When I Look At The Stars
by Marie Pattin
Summary: When Cate is forced to move to La Push to live with her relatives, the Clearwaters, she is only expecting rain and is hoping to go back home soon. But will she find more than just rain in La Push? Rewritten!
1. Stay Together For The Kids

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga or any of its characters. Stephenie Meyer does. All the songs belong to their respective owners.**

**Chapter 1**

**Stay Together For The Kids**

_Their anger hurts my ears, been running strong for seven years  
Rather than fix the problems, they never solve them, it makes no sense at all  
I see them everyday, we get along so why can't they?  
If this is what he wants, and it's what she wants, then why is there so much pain?_

**Stay Together for the Kids- Blink 182**

"And a one, two, three, four," Mrs Lapski clapped her hands to the beat. I easily moved from one step to the next. Turn, ball chain, jump, spin. The task was hard, difficult, but yet I knew it so well I could have probably done it in my sleep.

"Here's the big finish. Make it count" She told us over the music. I flowed from one pose to the last step, ending in my spot. The last note faded out and we all smiled and clapped. I hugged my close friend, Melissa Roberts and we rejoiced in finally going through our dance without messing up.

"Great job, everyone." Mrs Lapski looked down at her watch. "We still have ten minutes left." She smiled. "I'll see you all next class." We cheered and made our way to the locker rooms, boys and girls respectfully.

"I can't believe we finally got through it," That was the resounding statement through out the locker room. A towel was thrown at me and I caught it easily. I wiped off the sweat, deciding not to take a shower.

"Cate," Melissa's squeaky voice called out. She opened her locker, next to mine, and pulled out her clothes. We both pulled on similar outfits; sweat pants that end at the knee and track jackets thrown over our leotards. The only difference was that I pulled on a pair of converse and Melissa had her Nike's.

"We are still hanging out this weekend, right?" She asked as we packed our things into our bags. I looked in the mirror and pulled my dark blonde hair into a better pony tail.

"Um," I stalled, trying to figure out an answer.

"Come on," she whined. "Don't bail on me again." I bite the inside of my cheek, feeling gulity. I had been promising that we would hang out, but I would always end up giving her lame excuses as to why I couldn't go. I needed to make this up to her, plus I needed to get out of the house.

"We're still on," I tell her as I pushed open the locker room door and we file out into the crowded hallway. Suddenly she squealed and threw her arms around me.

"Thank you, thank you!" I patted her arm and then pushed her off me. We laughed and walked to our academic classes. The classes were short and easy, passing quickly.

At The New York School of Performance Arts, all the focus was on your major wether it be dance, music or drama. That was your class work, your homework. It was the reason you went to school.

After a ride on the subway and a ten minute walk I was standing outside of my apartment building.

"Afternoon Ms Rostov," The doorman, Lou, tipped his hat to me as he held the door open.

"Thanks Lou," I get into the elevator and hit the '24' button. My stomach dropped as it raced upwards. Finally the doors opened and I stepped out into the well lighted hallway. I sigh when I get near my door; I can already hear the yelling. I opened the door and was flooded with eardrum bursting screaming.

I closed the door quietly behind me and tiptoed to my room. I turned on my stereo and let the music drown the screaming out.

It was nothing new. My parents fought almost everyday. They were both hot tempered and unfaithful, at least my mother was.

My mother, Bridget, was the only child of Irish immigrants. She was beautiful with long, copper colored hair, blue eyes and flawless, pale skin. She was petite, though, only reaching five foot two. Her parents, Michael and Katherine, raised her to believe that she was better than most people. My mother was a doctor and was gone a lot of the time. She was always working- or at least, that was what she said.

My father, Tim, had a much more interesting family history. His father, my grandpa Will, came over from Russia when he was just a small boy. My grandmother, however, was from a tiny fishing village in Washington, called La Push. It was an Native American reservation where the Quileute people still lived. When my grandma Lucy, graduated from high school she wanted out of the small town of less than a thousand people. She moved to New York City where she met my grandpa while attending NYU. They both graduated with their respective degrees and had four children, of which my dad was the youngest.

He had a brother, Will Jr and two sisters, Suzie and Cindy. Aunt Suzie was what Grandma Lucy called a "free spirit". They all had light, russet colored skin with dark hair and eyes. My father and Uncle Will were huge. Both of them reached over six foot four.

My dad worked on Wall Street. I was never exactly sure of what he did, but he also worked long hours and was barely home. You would think that with them 'working' all the time, that they wouldn't be home to fight. It was as if they made time just to fight. They would get off early and come home to argue.

I missed my brother, Lucas. He was older then me by three years so he was in his freshmen year of college. He went against the family tradition of attending NYU and went to Penn State, although he was still undecided for his major. He was lucky enough to be away from the fighting. He called every week.

Lucas and I looked alike, facially. But I was blonde and blue-eyed while he had brown hair and hazel eyes. He was huge, like our father. Reaching over six foot five and made of pure muscle, he looked more like a linebacker than a lazy nineteen year-old.

With my shower done, my hair styled and my make-up done, I took one last look in the mirror. I picked out a shiny, sliver top with beading in the middle with a purple shrug to go over it. Grey heels and black skinny jeans finished off my outfit.

I texted Melissa and told her to meet me at our usual Starbucks. I was just about to open the door, when a sharp voice stopped me.

"Where do you think you are going?" My father and mother stood in the large doorway, arms folded, their expressions nearly the same.

"I'm going to meet up with Melissa," I told them, hand still on the open door. "We were going to get something to eat and them maybe do some shopping, or see a movie. We haven't made up our minds." I gulped, praying that they would let me go. I didn't want to start a fight with them. I had inherited their tempers and quickness to words. But after seeing the damage that it caused, I guarded my tongue.

"You're not going any where," My mother sneered. My eyes tightened and I closed my mouth with an audible snap.

"It's Friday night, I never hang out with my best friend. All I do is stay in my room, listening to your senseless bickering. I'm sick of it." I glared at them, trying to keep my voice even. "Why don't you save me the trouble of going deaf at an early age, and get divorced already." The words rolled off my tongue and I couldn't find it in me to regret them.

They both stared at me in shock. I ran out the door and slammed it behind me. I ran to the elevator and quickly hit the button, taking me to the bottom.

I walked into the coffee shop, my feelings buried. I saw Melissa sitting at a table, waving me over. I sat down and she pushed a cup towards me. She knew what I liked. I smiled and took an sip.

"You're late," She mused. I nodded and she sighed. "Parents?"

"Unfortunately," I took another sip. "Let's get going." We both stood up and started the walk to Times Square. Many New Yorkers hate Times Square because of all the tourists. Melissa and I loved it because we always stood out from the crowd. We fit the tourists description of New Yorkers; pretty, well dressed and having confidence that would always exceed the average person.

I bought clothes and make-up that I didn't need. I used the credit card my parents gave to me. They used to take the time and have someone buy me a gift, but I would always have to take it back because it was the wrong size or it was more fitting for a five year old than a fifteen year old. So a couple of months ago they handed me a credit card and told me to use it when I needed to and used it, I did.

"So what happened this time?" She asked after I had dropped over two hundred dollars at Sephora.

"They tried to act parental, acting as if they really cared about where I was going. They took a break from fighting to cause me problems." I told her as we maneuvered our way through the weekend tourists.

"Since when do they care what you do?" She snorted and pulled me to another store. There went another nine hundred from my parents pockets. I was unusually happy.

"They've never cared. They only care when my report card comes. They don't even complain about my spending anymore because they know that they are being assholes. They really messed up as parents and they know it."

"What do you think of this shirt?" She asked me about a purple top. I complemented the shirt and how it went nice with her eyes.

When the time was nearing midnight, we called it a night and took a cab to Melissa's apartment. We had the doorman help us with our bags. We were greeted by Melissa's mother, Paula. Melissa and her mom were like clones. They had the same hair, eyes and facial structure. Her parents had divorced when Melissa was still a baby. Her mom was a successful interior designer but the monthly checks from Melissa's dad helped.

"Hey girls," Her mom greeted us both with hugs. "I hope you had a fun time." She eyed Melissa, "But not too much fun."

We both laughed. "I only spent what you told me I could." That was enough for Paula, but we all knew she would pour over the bill when it came just to make sure. Then Melissa would have to work to pay back her mom for the extra expenditures.

We hurried to Melissa's room and fell asleep quickly. The next morning I took my time getting ready to go back to my apartment and having to face my parents. They were always angry when I would slam the door in their face after reminding them how much they sucked.

"You can always stay another night," Paula told me as she sipped her coffee. I shook my head.

"No, it's better if I just go back now. If I go back tomorrow, that will just make them madder." After a quick good bye to Paula and a still sleepy Melissa, I grabbed my bags and had the doorman call me a cab when I reached the street.

After a too quick drive, I was home. When I opened the door, I took a deep breath. I walked in and closed the door behind me.

"...but do you have the number?" I heard my father's voice talking to someone on his phone. I booked it to my room and locked the door. I hung up all my new clothes and placed my new make-up on my dresser. I handle the package of new bed sheets and blanket from Urban Outfitters. I wasn't sure what to do with it so I stuck it on one of the shelves in my closet.

I pressed my ear to the door and listened to the muffled one-sided conversation my dad was having.

"Yes, I'm so glad you remember. Well it's about my daughter..." He walked further into the apartment and I couldn't hear him. It was quiet until I heard his footsteps and voice fifteen minutes later.

"...all arranged. Yes, they are fine with it. They were taken back by the arrival date, but were fine." There was a long pause, the he sighed. "Fine, I'll do it. Yea, bye."

I pulled away from the door and tried to keep my breathing even. Who could he have been talking to about me? Arrival date? Were they sending me away?

I jumped when there was a loud knock at my door. I opened it slowly and shot an accusing glare at my dad.

He sighed and walked into my room, sitting on the bed. "How much did you hear?"

"You're sending me away," It wasn't a question. I folded my arms and leaned against the wall.

"Yes, but listen to me," He said when I opened my mouth to yell at him. "It's for the best."

"How is it for 'the best'?" I quoted him, my voice was thick. "How is sending me away going to be the best for me? How?" I waited for an answer. He sighed again and stood up, rubbing a hand over his face.

"You're mother and I are getting a divorce." I snorted, unsurprised. He continued. "I don't want you around this auguring anymore. Your mother has been having an affair." He hung his head. Even though my father had a temper, he was a kind man always taking the blame for everything. He had never hit me when I was bad, he hated to even ground me. He was the one who gave me the credit card; he didn't know how else to make it up to me.

"I could have told you that," I whispered. "Why do you have to send me away? Why can't I stay?"

"Because it's going to be very messy. I'm sorry that I've let you be around as long as you have. We tried, Cate, really we did." he whispered back. I sighed. Could I really blame him for trying to protect me even if he was a bit late?

"Where am I going?" There was no point in trying to fight it. I was going, no matter what.

"Washington to live with my uncle Harry and his family. Do you remember them?" He told me.

My mind instantly flipped through the memories of La Push. I remember a man and a woman, both had dark russet skin, black hair and dark eyes. Their smiles were kind. Two more people flashed through my mind; a young boy and a older girl, both with the same complexion of their parents. Seth and Leah.

"Yes, I do." I felt the tears start to run down my face. I was going to have to leave my school, my dancing. I cried harder. I felt my dad's warm arms wrap around me.

"I'm really sorry, Cate. It really is for the best." His deep voice rumbled with sadness.

"When do I leave," I managed to get out.

"Next week," He sighed and held me tighter as I cried.

***

"What!? You can't leave!" Melissa shouted at me during warm-ups on Monday. I shushed her as people turned to look at us. I brought my leg up behind me and leaned foreword.

"Well I am," Mrs Lapski entered the studio and I made my way over to her.

"Hello, Cate." She greeted me. "Is there something you need?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm moving." I looked down and composed my face then looked back at her. She looked sad.

"Oh my, are you going to be continuing your dancing?" Her question cut me deep without her even knowing it.

"The nearest studio is nearly fours away from where I'm going. I won't be able to continue my training." I felt like crying. Dancing was my life. I had worked so hard to get into my school, now it was all doing to waste. I felt one cold tear escape.

"Oh Cate, I'm so sorry. Why do you have to move, may I ask?" She gave me a quick hug.

"My parents are getting divorced," That was the only explanation I gave her but she understood completely.

"You're such a wonderful dancer. I was going to transfer you to my more advance class." She told me, unknowingly twisting the knife even more.

"Really?"

"Yes. Cate you must realize how good you are," She eyed me.

"I just love dancing and always put my heart into it." I shrugged.

"And that is what makes you so good. Just remember to practice, even if you aren't enrolled in a class. Don't let the skill that you have slip away because you don't use it." I took in her advice and she started class.

***

"I just can't believe you're really leaving and you're not even putting up the usual 'Cate Rostov' fight." Melissa commented as she helped me pack. She held the sheets and blanket I had gotten earlier. I grabbed them and threw the package into the suitcase. According to my Grandma Lucy's stories of La Push, it was cold and wet. At least when I had gone shopping with Missy, I had been stocking my winter wardrobe.

We folded and packed away my brand new clothes along with my make-up and other items. I grabbed the picture frame that held my favorite picture of Lucas and I. I wrapped it between a shirt so it wouldn't get broken.

Later that night I called Lucas.

"Wow." Was all he could say when I told him. I brushed away the tears.

"Yup. I have to give up dancing. Luc, I worked so hard ever since I was six, just so that I could dance. I can't even do what makes me happy." I cried harder. He was the only one who ever understood how important dancing was to me. When I was younger, he would walk me to my dance classes and sometimes he would stay and watch me. He went to every recital, took pictures and would hand me a lily after every performance.

"I know," He sighed. "I wish you could just come live with me. I hate to think that you're living with people you barely know."

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see it. "I don't know. I remember they were nice, except that Leah girl. I'll be fine. I'm always okay, no matter what."

"But you're not okay. You think you've been handling this well, but you haven't been dealing with it at all. I know you, Cate." I could just picture the look on his face. Excusing, yet worried all at the same time.

"I will be fine, though. I'm not broken."

"Yet," he sighed. "I love you, Cate. Tell Mom and Dad I said 'hi'."

"I love you, too."

***

Unfortunately, the week flew by and before I knew it I was at the airport hugging Melissa good bye. I didn't cry, I would save it for when I arrived in Washington.

"Call me, don't forget." She told me, through her tears. I gave her one last squeeze and heard my flight being called.

"Live with your heart," I smiled.

"And dance with your soul." She finished for me, smiling. My parents hadn't come. I didn't want them too.

I handed my ticket to the lady at the door and gave one last smile to Melissa as she waved to me.

Good bye life as I knew it, hello bleak and deary Washington.

**Here is the first chapter rewritten. I like it so much better. I hope y'all do to. Thanks for reading. Check out the links!**


	2. Disturbia

**Chapter 2**

**Disturbia**

_Your mind's in disturbia  
__It's like the darkness is the light  
Disturbia  
__Am I scaring you tonight?  
Your mind's in disturbia_

_**Disturbia- Rihanna **_

The small airplane touched down at the airport in Port Angeles. I got quite the welcoming party; it was pouring down rain. I stepped out of the plane and put my messenger bag over my head so it rested it on my shoulder. I scanned through the haze of rain, looking for my _Uncle_ Harry and _Aunt_ Sue.

I spotted an older couple, hovering underneath an umbrella. There skin was dark and I walked over to them.

"Catherine Rostov?" The woman questioned and I nodded my head. I was suddenly engulfed by her arms, and pulled against her chest. I was too shocked to return the hug.

"We are just so happy that you're here," She squealed and I pulled my self out of her arms.

"Uh, yeah. Great. And it's Cate, by the way." I couldn't return her bright smile. I turned my attention to the man standing next to Sue.

"Harry," He put out his hand and I couldn't help but feel so small as his large hand overtook mine. "Let's go get your things." Thank the stars that at least one of those two were practical. Standing out in the rain, making introductions was not my idea of fun.

We hurried into the warm building and they seemed surprise at how many bags I pointed out as my own. There was only five of them. I saw Sue's eyes widen as she saw the Louis Vuitton logo. I had two pegase suitcases, the larger ones, and then three keepalls. I still had several boxes of things that were being sent.

"So how was your flight? Were you comfortable?" Sue asked me as Harry grabbed my last bag.

"It was fine," I told her. I was comfortable in my outfit. I wore a gray blouse that was a bit longer on me. I had on my most comfortable jeans with black biker boots. I wore a black bangle with light blue stones in it and a black cocktail ring. On my left hand though, I wore the ring my Grandma Lucy gave to me before she died. The simple gold band fit perfectly on my ring finger. The best part about it was the aquamarine stone. Which was her birth stone and mine. My black coat kept me warm.

I was lead out to a old, black car and my bags were loaded into the trunk. During the hour and a half drive, Harry and Sue tried to talk to me. They asked me questions to which I either replied yes, no, or I would give the vaguest of answers. They soon got the hint that I wasn't talking and turned on the radio to some station that played hideous seventies music. I pulled out my iPod and let the music take over my thoughts. I didn't want to think about the house that would have to share with four other people that I didn't know. I didn't want to think about how, when I went to school that I wouldn't go to my studio class and dance, but how I would be stuck in the tedious and monotone of normal highschool.

I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I would save that till later. I glared out the window and wished for tall buildings, sidewalks crowded with people and the bright lights of New York. Instead all I had was the empty highway and the dark forest.

It was November, the trees should be all shades of red, orange and yellow. Not here, everything was so...green. I hated it.

We passed many signs with names of towns, but only one sparked my interest.

"What's 'Forks'," I asked suddenly.

Sue answered me. "That's just another town. It's a little bit bigger than La Push, has more people."

"Hmm. Does it have a school?" I asked. After I was informed that I was to attend the tribal school on the reservation and learn the Quileute language, I wanted to die. The school didn't even have sixty kids.

"Yes," She sounded confused.

"Could I go to school there?" I asked, slightly hopeful.

"No," came the sharp retort from Harry. "You'll go to school on the rez."

"Why?" I questioned. That was one of my biggest problems, I always asked why, always wanting a explanation.

"Because," he began, his voice low and rough. "You are a Quileute, you'll go to school with Quileutes."

"Whatever," I mumbled and turned my music back up. I didn't understand what was so important about going to school on "the rez". Was it some kind of loyalty thing?

I shook my head and took a harder look outside my window. We were passing houses now, though they were all quite small. We drove pass what looked like a convenience store. Finally we pulled up in front of a house. I had to say I was honestly surprised at the size of the house. I was expecting a tiny place that you could barely turn around in. But this was...different.

Instead of the shed I thought was going to be there, it was a house. It was two stories and the windows were framed by white shutters. There was a enclosed side porch. A cement walkway led up to the black door. Dusk was rapidly approaching and the house was bright with lights shining through the windows, spilling light onto the soggy lawn.

I heard Harry and Sue talking to each other in hushed tones. I caught something about a bad idea and something else about liking it.

I closed my eyes and hoped that there wasn't a crowd of people waiting to greet me inside the red house. I hated surprises, but at least I wouldn't be surprised when I walked into the house in case there was a group of people.

"Well Cate, let's get you inside and out of the cold." Sue said, motherly. I grabbed two of my keepalls and a rolling suitcase. I was in front of both Harry and Sue, which led me to be even more paranoid about what was waiting for me behind the front door.

I put my hand on the cold handle and took a deep breath. I opened the door and was splashed with a loud, "Surprise!". I winced and then opened my eyes. There were over two handfuls of people inside the house, making the living room look impossibly small.

As taken aback as I was, I was even more surprised by the similarities of all the people. They all had dark russet skin, black hair and dark eyes. I felt like I would drown in the sea of clones.

The next thought that hit me was how big the men were. What was it with Quileute men and their...largeness?

Suddenly a pretty girl bounded forward out of the crowd. She was a couple inches taller than me, but the thing that stuck out about her was the three long scars that rested on the right side of her face. They were vivid in color though you could tell that they were long healed. One pulled at her eye and another at the corner of her mouth, pulling it into a grimace.

I quickly snapped my gaze from her face and study the rest of her. She had long, shiny black hair and dark eyes, her skin a silky copper.

"Hi, I'm Emily." She greeted me, putting out her hand which I took and shook for just a second.

"Cate," I told her. I looked past her and glanced at all the people. There was another girl, who had a disinterested look on her face, as if she wished she was somewhere else. A majority of the boys, who I assumed to be teenagers were looking at me and smiling. There was two older men, one was in a wheel chair. Then someone caught my gaze and held it. He was huge, but he couldn't have been that old. His dark chocolate eyes bore into my blue orbs. There was...something else there. I didn't know how to explain it. There was suddenly no one else in the room. It was as if only he and I existed. Never had I felt such strong emotions, so pure and raw. It scared me, sent a shiver of fear down my spine.

"Cate?" I heard a distant voice call out to me. It called me again. I recognized it as Emily's voice.

I shook my head and tore my eyes away from him. "Yea," I addressed her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes flickering back and forth between the boy and me.

"Perfect," I smiled and walked around her. I stood there, looking at everyone, anything other than that guy. A different boy came up to me. He was taller than me, but was pretty lanky and had to only be a couple of years younger than me.

"Hi," he said cheerfully with a wide smile. "I'm Seth." I shook his hand. Somehow, his introduction must have been the go ahead for all the others to greet me. There were so many people, their names swirled around in my head.

Jared, Kim, Quil, Sam, Embry, Jacob, Old Quil, Billy, Leah.

Then there was Paul, that boy. When he greeted me, it felt as if my heart was going to jump out of my chest. He smiled at me, as if he could hear my heart and introduced himself in a deep voice.

"I'm Paul," His hot hand enveloped mine and it felt like fire. It burned, but wasn't painful and left me wanting more than just a handshake.

"Cate," I whispered to him. "With a 'C', not a 'K'." I specified. So many people got my name wrong; it's not my fault my mom had to go all Irish and give my name the Irish spelling. Especially being named after my mom's mother. Her name was spelled with a 'K'. Catherine was an old person's name.

"That's pretty," He told me and I could feel the slight blush heat up my cheeks.

"Thanks," I murmured, our eyes never leaving each others.

"I'm sure Cate is hungry and wants to get unpacked." Harry told the room full of people. I didn't even notice the table that look like it was going to break with all the weight of food that was on it. There was everything, but not a lot of things I let myself eat. I got a hamburger, something I only let myself have every once in a while. I had to control my weight due to my dancing.

_I'm not dancing anymore. What the hell._ I gave up and got chips and a slice of pizza. I found an empty chair and balanced my plate on my lap while I ate. Four of the guys crowded around me and asked me questions.

"How old are you?" one of them asked, I thought his name was Quil.

"I'll be sixteen in March," I told them and took another bite of my pizza. "What about you," My question was directed at all of them. Different ages were shouted at me.

"Fifteen," Quil, Jacob and Embry said at the same time.

"Thirteen," Seth mumbled after them.

"Wow," I noticed Paul, Sam and Jared in a corner of the room, talking to each other quietly, glancing at me. My brow furrowed and I looked down at my food.

"Are you excited about school?" Seth asked me. He was a cute kid and he reminded me of a little brother.

"Not really," I couldn't help but be honest. I wasn't a good liar anyways.

Seth's smile fell and Jacob patted him on the back. "Don't worry, Seth. We'll show her how much fun school is." He laughed.

"It's not going to be like my other school. This whole place is different." I mumbled, frowning.

"Sure it might be smaller, but-" Embry started to say, but I cut him off.

"I went to a preforming arts school," I stated simply and their eyes widened. I got up and threw my plate into a black garage bag and grabbed my bags, struggling under the weight. I pulled them up the stairs, ignoring everyone.

I knew it was rude to act the way I did towards them, but I didn't care. I was angry, pissed off to a whole new level.

I didn't ask which room was mine. I figured it out when I opened the other doors and was greeted by fully decorated rooms.

My room ended up being at the end of the hall way. I opened the door, turned on the light and was blinded by white walls. Once my eyes adjusted, I studied the room.

It was long, but not very wide. A full bed rested at one end of the room, pushed up against the wall, only two feet between the foot of the bed and the wall. Above the bed was a large window, plain white curtains covering it. A plain white dresser was at the other end of the room. A door was opposite me, most likely a closet. To my left was a small desk and a chair.

It was too white, there wasn't enough color. I would have to change that.

I dragged my bags into the room and shut the door behind me. I laid one of my suitcases on the bed and opened it. Inside, directly on top, laid my iPod stereo. I set it on top of the desk and plugged it in. I set my iPod on to the dock and turned it on.

Soon music was coming out of the speakers, helping to soothe my frazzled nerves. I hummed quietly along with the song until I was singing softly.

"No one else, no one else can speak the words on your lips. Drench yourself in words unspoken," I sang as I folded, put away and hung up my clothes. Some of them would need to be ironed before I could wear them.

Most of the songs that played were happy, upbeat songs. Hell, the playlist was even called, "Happy Music". It was the exact opposite of how I was feeling.

I felt like crying, dying, punching something, someone. All the feelings that raged inside me like a tornado, they were consuming me. I felt like I would forever be stuck living my life with the rug being pulled out from underneath me.

I couldn't breathe, all the air was suddenly gone and I was choking without it. The feeling sent me to my knees, dropping the pair of jeans that I was holding. Tears rolled down my face and hit the hardwood floor like a flood. I sobbed and didn't fear, didn't care about being heard. The music drowned out my body racking sobs.

I breathed in sharply, my lungs burning. Everything that I had worked for in my short life was gone. All hope of dancing in the future, joining a company, gone. With my dreams dashed to pieces and no sight of happiness, no light at the end of the dark tunnel, my life felt worthless. What did I have to live for?

The answer was simple: Nothing.

I picked myself off the ground and grabbed my jeans, setting them into the top dresser drawer.

My clothes were soon put away and I opened my last suitcase and pulled out the few things I had brought to decorate my room with. I pulled out the picture of my Lucas and I and smiled slightly at it, setting it on the dresser.

After I had put everything were I wanted it, including putting my quilt and sheets on the bed, I found myself incredibly tried. I could still hear the voices downstairs and decided to venture down there. Maybe I would be able to put on a fake enough smile and show them that I wasn't a total bitch.

When I reached the living room, all heads turned to look at me. A tall-tale sign that people were talking about you and it only added to my black mood. I went over to the table that was no nearly empty and grabbed a can of soda. I sipped at it and then went sit next to Seth, who smiled brightly and instantly tried to include me in the conversation.

"We were just talking about which video game rocks more. Which game is your favorite?" He asked me and they looked at me, waiting.

"I've never played video games," Classes took up most of my time. Their jaws dropped.

"No way," Embry breathed, "Everyone needs to play video games!"

"Don't worry," Quil said, putting an arm around me. "I'll teach you." He threw a toothy smile at me.

I forced the best smile I could. "I probably wouldn't be any good." I said, trying to get out of it.

"We'll make you good," Jacob said seriously, then laughing with the others. I didn't laugh. Movement caught my eye and I saw Emily clearing the table.

I got up and walked over to her, "Need any help?" I asked. She nodded and smiled.

"Could you grab some of those plates, thanks." I grabbed them and then followed her into the kitchen. She started washing the dishes and I watched her. Her hands moved swiftly, having done this many times before. I looked down at my own hands. I had never even loaded a dishwasher, let alone wash dishes by hand.

"So what's New York like? I've never been there." She asked me as she scrubbed a plate.

I shrugged. "Imagine the complete opposite of this," She laughed. "Some people would think that New York is ugly or dirty, but it's not. There is a certain beauty to the madness. There is art, music, creativity everywhere." My voice was soft and I was staring out the window above the sink.

"You must miss it," She commented, her voice also soft.

"I can't wait to go back." I told her honestly. "This place is going to kill me."

"It's not so bad," She smiled. "The beach is wonderful, the forest offers peace of mind. But don't go to far in or you'll get lost." She laughed softly and I smiled. "There's beauty here too. Just a different kind of beauty. Maybe one of the boys could take you out and show you everything. Maybe you'll like it, or you might not." She shrugged.

"Maybe," I mused, still staring out the window.

"Do you have any siblings?" Emily asked, gently trying to get me to open up.

"A brother, Lucas. He's at college, though. He just turned nineteen." I told her, smiling sadly.

"You are close with him," She stated, not as a question. I nodded and then yawned widely.

"Go to bed, Cate. I bet your jet lagged." She shooed me with her soap covered hands.

"Thanks, Emily." I tried to give her a real smile, hoping I succeeded. I tiredly climbed the stairs, nearly colliding with Paul who was coming out of the bathroom. I gracefully moved out of the way as his feet caught on the rug and he fell to the floor. I tried to hide my laughter as he laid on the floor with a confused look on his face.

"How did you get out of the way so fast?" he asked, the embarrassment playing out on his face.

"I'm a ballerina," I told him, though I was sure he thought I was joking. I held out my hand for him which he grabbed. He smirked and then pulled me to the floor. I had no hope of catching myself.

"Oof," I felt my air leave me as I landed heavily on top of him, a sharp pain shooting up my wrist. Then I felt him shake with laughter. I glared. "What is so funny?"

"The look on your face," He told me through his laughter. I glared even more.

"Well, well." A voice made us both look. It was Seth. "Is this how New Yorkers get to know each other? If it is, you can count me out." He shook his head and stepped over us, going into the bathroom.

I tried my best to get off Paul as fast as I could. He was up on his feet seconds after I was, an amazing feat for someone his size.

I realized that I'm not a tall person, standing at only five foot five, but Paul was at least a foot taller than me. I had to look up to glare at him. Then I felt a pain at my wrist. I lifted it up to discover that a rather large chunk had been taken out of it.

"Ow," I clapped a hand over my wrist to cover up the blood. Pain shot up my arm. "Major ow," Pain seeped into my voice. Paul swore and then grabbed my good arm and then dragged me down the stairs.

"Sue!" he called out and she came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Paul, there is no more food, how many time do I-" Paul cut her off.

"Cate is bleeding," He told her and then grabbed my wrist to show her. She looked at it and then wrapped the towel she was using around my wrist.

"It's not as bad as it looks. Let's get you cleaned up," She pulled me into the kitchen (I've been getting pulled a lot lately) and sat me down at the kitchen table. She brought over a large white kit and pulled out several things: a bottle of rubbing alcohol, gauze, cotton balls, and medical tape.

She laid the towel down underneath my arm and then poured the rubbing alcohol over my wrist. I cried out when it burned.

"Fuck, that hurts." I groaned and grabbed Paul's hand and gripped it with all my force. He was standing next to me, watching Sue's every move.

"Language, Cate." Sue eyed me and I suppressed an eye roll. The liquid bubbled and she poured more over it. I swore again and nearly ripped Paul's hand off. Paul didn't even seem phased by all the force I was using. He merely rubbed circles over my knuckles.

"This is all your fault," I hissed at him. He gave my hand a squeeze and then smiled.

"Sorry, but the look on your face was priceless." He smiled again, his dark eyes meeting mine.

"Oh shut up," I huffed and winced as Sue started doing something to my wrist. I looked over and saw that it had stopped bleeding, but now there was a long horizontal, but not too deep cut on my wrist.

"Great," I mumbled. "I look like I'm emo." Paul laughed and I ripped my hand out of his warm grasp. Sue laid several pieces of gauze over the cut and then wrapped it with the tape.

"Your first injury." Sue smiled as she cleaned up. "Welcome to La Push." I shot up out of the chair and thanked her. I shot a glare at Paul and then headed for the stairs.

"Hey, wait." Paul called out to me. I kept on walking. He grabbed my right wrist, my good wrist and stopped me.

"I'm sorry. I am, really." His sincerity was clear, even in his eyes I could read the apology.

I sighed. "It's fine," I couldn't stop looking at him and his hand burned on my arm. We were close, closer than I wanted to be. I jerked back, away from him. "I accept your apology. Good night." I ran up the stairs and went straight to my room.

I closed the door, locking it. I slid down it and rested on the floor.

My life just got complicated.

**AN: Oh my! I chapter from me! I bet you didn't think I'd update this soon, but I did. I was working on Doing This Alone, you know, following my order, when the inspiration for this suddenly appeared. So I wrote it. It's really long too! This is my gift to you guys for putting up with my OCD-ness and rewriting this! Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh I'd thought I'd add that I don't usually listen to Rihanna (or that type of music in general) but it just fit with how Cate's feeling. **

**And check out the links on my profile! I've added some new ones!**

_**MP **_


	3. Rings

**Chapter 3**

**Rings**

_And she wonders where these dreams go  
'Cause the world got in her way  
What's the point in ever trying  
Nothing changing anyway_

_**Acoustic #3- Goo Goo Dolls **_

I felt a pain at my wrist as I rolled over in my bed. I hissed and then rolled back onto my stomach and off of my wrist. I was unusually comfortable and I wanted to seep back into the warmth of my sleep.

I was almost back to my peaceful sleep when a loud knock at my door caused me to jump, successfully ruining all chances of me getting back to sleep. I opened my eyes and then it hit me; I was in La Push. I'd hoped it was all a really bad dream.

"Cate," Sue's voice rang out. "Time for breakfast," I groaned and picked up my phone. I nearly screamed when I saw the time. No normal teenager is up at eight on a Saturday. I rolled back over, trying to find sleep again, when another knock came.

"Cate," Sue's voice questioned. Suddenly the door flew open and there stood Sue, hands on hips, glaring at my balled up form on the bed. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"What do you want?" I moaned, tiredly. I kept praying that she would leave and I could go back to sleep, but my prayers were useless. She stayed.

"It is nearly eight-thirty and everyone else is up and at the table. Either you get up, or you'll get no breakfast." She threatened. She was trying to be an authority figure to a girl who had never really had one.

"Whatever," I grumbled, rolling on to my side. "I don't care. Just go away." I wrapped my blankets around me tighter. I could hear her heavy, annoyed sighed and then the door closing. Finally, some peace and quiet.

I fell back into my dream world, where my parents weren't getting a divorce and I wasn't in La Push.

***

I could sense that I had been asleep for awhile. My head pounded, making me groan. I got out of my warm bed and grabbed my purse. I pulled out the white bottle of over the counter pain relievers and quickly swallowed three. I stretched, hearing my back crack. I was curious to the time and was relieved when I saw that it was past noon. At least, I had gotten my sleep.

I took a look out the window, but I already knew the weather; gray, cloudy and rainy. I sighed and searched for an outfit. I wanted something colorful to block out the monotone sky. I wanted something completely opposite of the green scenery that surrounded me.

I pulled on a red, scoop neck, jersey top. I grabbed my favorite pair of dark jeans and my blue double t-strap heels. I looked in my mirror and my outfit still seemed unfinished. I put on a black, wrap belt around my waist. I put on several of my rings and a blue necklace. Now, I looked good.

I brushed my hair and pulled it into a loose, half pony tail. I quickly swiped on some eyeliner and mascara. My skin was very clear and had a natural glow to it. I glared at the wrapping on my arm and cursed Paul.

Paul— he was the last thing I thought of last night. There was something so…off about him, about the way he treated me. He hurt me, and then was comforting me. It was an accident, though, he must have felt bad. He certainly could have made a better first impression.

But, it wasn't they way he treated me that kept him on my mind. It was the bizarre feeling I got when I was around him.

It was like there was this unspoken connection, though we had just met. I felt so awkward, yet so comfortable, so opened, but yet sheltered. A relationship was the last thing on my mind, I didn't need more complications. Plus, I wasn't exactly in tip-top emotional shape, at the moment.

I shook my head, trying to clear out the confusing thoughts. I headed into the bathroom and brushed my teeth.

I took a deep breath and headed down the stairs. I didn't know what to expect, but an empty house defiantly wasn't on my list of ideas. I headed to the kitchen upon the complaint from my growling stomach.

The kitchen was spotless despite the fact that a major party for over a dozen people had taken place the night before.

I was about to open the fridge, when I noticed something written on the magnetic note pad. Cate, it started—

_We are at Sam Uley's house. Emily invited us over for lunch and told us not to wake you. We'll probably be there until at least two o'clock. I wrote the directions for you. They don't live too far away. Hope to see you. _

_Aunt Sue_

Beneath her name were several directions to Emily's. I opened the fridge and tried finding something to eat. Not finding anything I wanted, I opened the freezer. There was a box of ice cream sandwiches. I smiled and grabbed one. It had been awhile since I had had ice cream.

I plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs and took a huge bite out of the ice cream when I ripped the wrapper off. I moaned lowly, closing my eyes at the taste. It had been too long. I put my feet up on the chair across from me and leaned my head back, taking another bite.

"If ice cream does this to you, I'd love to know what I could do to you," A voice snapped me out of my ice cream induced pleasure. My eyes shot open to see Paul standing in the doorway with a cocky smile on his face. He was only wearing a tee shirt and a pair of cut off shorts. It couldn't have been more than fifty degrees out.

I narrowed my eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, annoyed. I took another bite. He shrugged and walked over to the chair where my feet were. He picked them up and sat down, placing my feet on his lap.

"I was over at Sam's and Harry and Sue were there, but you weren't. I couldn't help but wonder, so I asked where you were. " He slipped off one of my shoes and started massaging my foot. His hands were so warm on my cold toes. I would have kicked him, but it just felt too good.

"I was surprised when they told me you were still sleeping," He chuckled. "You seem like the type to be up at the crack of dawn, princess." He smirked, but continued to massage my foot. I glared at him, but he was watching his hands on my foot.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm slightly normal," I took another bite of my ice cream. He laughed loudly, the sounds filling the kitchen.

"So you seem," He mused.

"You still haven't said what you are doing here," I reminded him.

"Oh, I'm here to be your escort," his smirk grew more pronounced. He slipped my shoe back on and let my feet drop to the tiled floor. He stood up and walked to my side, holding out his hand. I glanced between his hand and his face. I took another bite of my ice cream.

"And what if I don't want to go?" I asked him. He rolled his eyes.

"I figured you'd be difficult." He shrugged. "I'll just carry you," His lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were threatening. It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"Sure sure," I finished off my ice cream and got up, ignoring Paul's hand. I washed my hands, drying them on the towel hanging off the stove. I was careful not to get my bandage wet. I turned around and nearly collided with Paul. He was so close to me, his dark eyes bearing into my light ones. He ran a ringer across my injured wrist.

"I am sorry about that," He told me, his voice low and serious.

"I know you are," I jumped back, startled by his sudden closeness. I met his eyes and they seemed troubled. He shook his head and a smiled appeared on his face.

"Are you coming, or not?" He started walking towards the exit. I bit my lip and thought for a moment before racing after him. "I would grab a coat, if I were you. It's cold." I frowned.

"You're not wearing a coat," I pointed out. He seemed to tense for a moment.

"I'm a hot person," He shrugged and stood by the front door. I stood in front of him a moment, contemplating what he just said. No normal person would be out walking around in cold, wet weather in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. There was something up with the people in La Push, I just didn't know what it was.

Paul waved a large hand in front of my face.

"Cate," He called out. I shook my head.

"Uh, yea, just let go get my, um, coat," Smooth Cate, real smooth.

I went up the stairs and grabbed the black coat I had worn yesterday and threw it on, giving myself a once over in the mirror. I slipped my phone into my pocket and rushed down the stairs. Paul was leaning against the door, his arms crossed.

"Let's go," He opened the door and gestured for me to go first. I rolled my eyes and stepped out onto the front porch. Paul closed the door behind him and he brushed past me, I followed.

"So," he started after we had walked in silence for a couple of minutes. "Did you have friends back in New York?"

"Yes, Melissa." I smiled at the thought of my harebrained best friend. "We were partnered up in our first year of dance school and became fast friends. We would go shopping every weekend, go out to eat twice a week." Homesickness was setting in, hard. I would call Melissa tonight.

"You miss her," Paul noted. "Any boyfriends?" He asked, offhand. I laughed.

"No, no boyfriend. I was too busy." I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked up at Paul who seemed relieved. "Dancing took up my time." I told him, longingly. I hadn't danced in several days, something that was a rare occurrence. Suddenly, Mrs. Lapski's words came back to me. _Don't let the skill that you have slip away because you don't use it._

She was right. I would have to practice so that when I finally went back to New York, I would still be in dancing shape. I regretted the ice cream sandwich I had just eaten.

"You miss dancing, too." Paul stated and I nodded. "What did you like about it?" I looked up at him and was met with his curious smile.

"Dancing is freedom," I started, smiling. "You can create beauty with your movements. You can take the simplest piece of music and when you mix in dancing it becomes something so complicated, people wonder just how you did it. You can inspire artists to form their best paintings, sculptures.

"Dancing can take you out of your current frame of mind and take you to a place where everything is simple and broken down into steps that make sense." I stopped and laughed. "Missy and I have this saying, "Live with your heart, dance with your soul." It's what we lived by." I sighed, missing Melissa and dancing even more than I was before. I brought my hands out of my pockets and crossed them. It was quiet for a moment and then Paul touched my Grandma Lucy's ring.

"That's pretty," He said.

"It was my grandma's. She gave it to me, just before she died." I told him, holding my hand to look at the ring. It was a simple thing. Just an aquamarine stone set into a gold band.

"And the other ones," He asked, pointing at my other hand.

"Oh," I smiled. "My dad got me these ones. Every time he goes on a business trip, he buys me a ring. When I was ten I was extremely obsessed with rings. I thought they were all so pretty and perfect. So he was leaving for Tokyo and asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted a special Japanese ring. He came back and had the most beautiful ring for me. Ever since then, when he goes away he always brings me back a ring or two."

"Do you still like rings?" Paul asked me, raising a dark eyebrow.

"I love them," I told him. I really did love rings. Maybe it was because they were signs that my dad really did care. Even if I didn't particularly like a ring he got me, I knew that he had picked it out.

"How often did he go away," Paul grabbed my hand and held it in his large, warm one, letting our intertwined hands fall in between us. I was shocked at the causal contact and it took a moment to answer.

"Um," I blushed. "He has to leave about once a month. Why are you holding my hand?" I blurted. He shrugged.

"You seemed cold," he peered down at me and smiled. I rolled my eyes, but didn't release my hand from his grasp. His touch was burning, but it was just what I needed.

"Oh, well, thanks, I guess." I ducked my head. He laughed.

"You're welcome, I guess." He smiled and I smiled with him. Soon enough, we had arrived at a tiny house. The front door was a faded blue, while the rest of the house was a weathered gray. Paul didn't even knock before he entered the house, pulling me in with him. I was surrounded by warmth and the smell of home cooking.

"Emily," his loud voice rang out. I grimaced, but Emily came bustling into the kitchen that took up mostly the front part of the diminutive house.

"Cate," she smiled and pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back with my one arm because Paul still had my other hand. I ripped it from his warm grasp to hug Emily fully. She pulled away, still smiling.

"Are you hungry? There is still some lunch left over." She started moving around the kitchen, making me a plate.

"Uh, sure," I shrugged. She put a plate, loaded with food into my hands and took my shoulders, steering me towards the dining room table. "Thanks," I told her, when I was sitting. She smiled.

"Eat up," She went back into the other room. Paul sat down next to me. I paid him no mind; instead my eyes raked over the plate of food Emily had made me. There were chicken tenders, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. I picked up my fork and picked up a little bit of potatoes. I started eating, but I could feel Paul practically drooling.

"Can I eat?" I asked him, annoyed. He seemed to snap out of his revere.

"Uh, are you gonna eat all that?" He licked his lips. My brows furrowed. He had come from Emily's to get me. He mostly likely ate, or Emily would have made him a plate too.

"I might," I teased him by taking another bite of one of chicken tenders. "Yum," He glared at me.

"That's not even fair," He mumbled, resting his head in his hands. I took another bite. I kept eating, but by the time I was full, there was still a half a plate left of food. I picked it up and held it out to Paul. He grinned, but as he went to reach for it, I pulled it away. He frowned, reminding me of a small child.

"What will you give me?" I asked him.

"How about a kiss," He offered. I rolled my eyes.

"I'll give it to you, if you promise _not_ to kiss me." He nodded eagerly and I handed the plate to him. He ate all the food quickly. It only took him minutes to eat what had taken me fifteen minutes.

"Thanks, princess." He smiled, leaning back into the chair.

"Welcome, pig." I smirked when he glared at me. I stood up and placed the placed the plate into the sink. I walked into the living room to see Harry, Sue and Seth laughing with Emily. They all looked up at me.

"Nice of you to join us," her voice was annoyed. She was still upset about this morning, I guessed.

"Uh…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say to my upset aunt.

"Cate," Emily patted the spot next to her. "Come sit by me," I smiled, grateful and sat down next to her. "So, how are you feeling about school?" Emily asked me.

I shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess. I'm glad it's the beginning of the year." I told her.

She smiled. "Yes, that does make things easier." I smiled back but my attention was turned to the doorway by a cough. Paul was standing there, his arms folded.

"Cate," I turned back to face Emily. "Why don't you and Paul go for a walk," She offered. "Maybe Paul can show you around La Push."

"Um, sure." I answered, standing up and making my way over to Paul. I waved good-bye to everyone, catching a look between Harry, Sue and Emily. I frowned but continued to follow Paul out of the small, claustrophobic house. I breathed in the cold, salty air.

"Where do you want—" Paul was cut off by a song.

_And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken—_I hit the talk button on my phone.

"Hello?"

"Cate!" Missy's voice squealed. "I miss you so much!"

I was floored. "Missy? Wow. Hi. I miss you, too. What's up?" I looked at Paul who looked annoyed. I held up one finger and then continued to walk forward. I wasn't one to stay still while talking on the phone.

"Lapski is having us work overtime since you left. You did have a pretty important role," I winced as she reminded me of the dance that I and several other dancers had created.

"Oh, sorry." I wasn't sure what I was apologizing for.

"That slut, Aimee, took your part." I felt my eye bug out and I stopped in my tracks. Paul seemed concerned.

"That bitch," I retorted. "She's been trying to sneak her way into a bigger role ever since we started that damn dance." I rubbed my forehead. Aimee Winters had declared herself my enemy. I didn't have a problem with her until she started doing what ever she could to make my life difficult. She would take my clothes out of my locker and hide them so that I would have to either walk around in my dance wear or borrow clothes from someone. She was always trying to steal my parts in whatever dances we had.

"I know," Missy stretched out the words. "So tell me, what's it like? Have you met any cute guys?" She paused. "Well ones that you aren't related too," She laughed. I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see.

"Its…interesting," I eyed Paul who gave me a confused look. "It's cold, wet," I pulled my hood up. "rainy, of course. The people were…welcoming." I didn't want to say anything about anyone in front of Paul. I turned away from him and murmured into the phone. "Something's off about the guys here,"

Missy laughed. "What? They aren't crawling all over you?" She laughed again. "You didn't tell me, are they any cute guys?"

I turned back to Paul. "Yes, there are."

"You have to tell me about them," She egged me on. I smiled.

"I would love to but I'm getting the grand tour of La Push," I told her, eyeing Paul who looked really annoyed. You'd think he would be cold, with it raining and all.

"Oh, I got it. Tsk," She clicked her tongue. "You are with a guy. What's his name?"

I rolled my eyes. "Paul," I told her. Paul's brow furrowed, and he became confused.

"Well you tell Paul I said hi. I'll talk to later, chickie. Love ya,"

"Love you, too." I hung up the phone, slipping back into my pocket.

"Your friend?" Paul asked. I nodded and we started walking again. "What did she ask you?" He asked.

"Oh, just about La Push and whatnot." I told him. "Where are we going?" Paul pointed to the sound of the rushing ocean.

"To the beach," My stomach dropped. Oh, no.

**AN: Sorry for stopping it there, but I have to! This chapter would have been like 13 pages long! Hope y'all enjoyed. This was mostly filler with a little fluff! (^__^)**

**REMEMBER: Check out my new website! Its where all the links are, including the outfit for this chapter! Check there for notes and updates!  
**

**Yours Truly,**

**Marie Pattin**


	4. Island

**Chapter 4**

**Island**

_Just a keep a hold on me don't let go  
If you float away, if you float away  
Waiting too long for a ship to come  
Don't you float away, don't you float away_

**Island- The Starting Line **

I sat there, watching the ominous, gray waves crash into the rocky shore that was decorated in millions of differently colored pebbles. There was a slight drizzle, but the space heater at my side, kept me warm enough that I didn't mind getting a little wet. Why the hell was he so hot?

_It's the dark eyes, the beautiful russet skin or the big manly hugeness- _Shut up! I couldn't help but get angry at my inner voice. She always got carried away, unlike me. I was always in control.

What I had meant was why he was so hot, as in his body heat. Maybe it was his large body mass, but the heat just rolled off of him. Not that I minded. It was better than freezing my butt off.

Paul had led us out to the rocky beach. He told me it was called First Beach and sometimes the kids from Forks would come down and hang out. But they only came on the warmer days, he added.

We were sitting on a large boulder that had been shaped into a natural bench by Mother Nature. The water looked scary. I felt my self shudder, remembering.

"Hey, are you cold?" Paul asked, his young face worried.

I shook my head. "No, I was just thinking," I wrapped my arms around me, despite myself.

"Of what," Paul's voice was playfully curious.

"The last time I went swimming," I took a breath. "I almost drowned, so I tend to stay away from water now." I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, staring out at the violent ocean.

When I was thirteen, my parents made the time to take Lucas and me to Florida—to Disney World...

The entire trip was full of my parents fighting and creepy people in cartoon character suits trying to hug me. After five horrific days in Disney, we went to Daytona Beach. My mother claimed that she wasn't feeling well, so Dad, Lucas and I went down to the beach. I have to admit, we had a pretty good time. There weren't a ton of people on the beach except for a few surfers and a couple of families. Lucas and I spent most of the afternoon trying to skim board while my dad watched and occasionally joined us. By the early evening, we were ready to head back to the hotel to clean up and go to dinner. I decided to do one last swim. I had never really been a strong swimmer, so it was only due to my enthusiastic mood that I swam out to far.

The current was strong and I was already tired from the long day. So when I was swept away, I tried to swim back, only to get pulled under. I managed to get a strangled help when I surfaced for several moments. I was pulled back under, the cold water forcing itself down my throat, burning it. I tried so helplessly to find the surface but I failed. My arms and legs felt so heavy and I gave up.

My lungs burned and the world was starting to go black around the edges. Suddenly, I felt something yank hard on my arm. An arm wrapped around my bare waist and we burst through the surface. A coughed all the water out of my lungs as someone pulled me up to a surfboard. I breathed in the sweet air, coating my lungs in it. It hurt so much to breathe, but it felt so wonderful. I clutched to the board, laying my head on it. My eyes darted to the side where a boy of only fifteen, maybe sixteen was. He was tanned, his hair dark and his eyes light.

"Thanks," I rasped out, coughing again.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a not too deep voice. I nodded and closed my eyes. I was so tired. "Let's get you back to shore," With that he got us both to shore where my dad and Lucas preceded to freak out.

Suddenly, two denim covered legs were in my line of vision, pulling me from my memory. I looked up and saw Paul, holding out his large hand.

"Let's get out of here," He half smiled. I placed my hand in his and he easily pulled me up. I was so grateful as we walked away from the shore and more inland. There really wasn't much to La Push. There were only a dozen or so, streets and the one was the highway that led to Forks. There was a convenience store and some other stores, plus the schools. But other than that, there wasn't much to this town. Which made me think that there was something else going on in La Push; No town is this uninteresting.

The rest of Paul's tour was short and to the point. There wasn't a lot to describe. They did have a resort of some sort.

"So," he gesticulated dramatically, "What do you think?"

"It's…" searched for the right word. "Uh, small," I finished lamely, shrugging. Paul's smile fell slightly but stayed intact.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yea, it's not much, but I like to call it home,"

"I don't think I could ever call any place but New York my home," I pulled my hood up and crossed my arms. Stupid rain.

"Do you think you'll get use to it, here?" Paul asked me as we walked down the paved road.

I shrugged again, "I'll get use to it, that's not the problem…" I sighed. I could get use to the rain, the claustrophobia feeling of being in such a small town; but I could never get use to never seeing my family, especially my brother. This place was like another country and I was going to have one hell of a time assimilating to the culture.

I had been following Paul the whole time, not knowing where we were going. So I was surprised when I found myself outside of the Clearwater's house.

"So, I guess I'll see you at school," I looked up to see Paul's face in the fading gray light. It was laced with confusion and some other emotion I couldn't identify.

He seemed to think about his answer. "Uh, I'm pretty sure you will," The look on his face didn't go away.

"Good," I blurted out. There goes my mind again, making me say things I shouldn't and didn't want to say. My small outburst made Paul's face light up in a smile. "I mean, you make it sound as if you might not go to school. What do you do, skip?" I inquired.

He laughed lightly, "No, certain…things come up and I have to miss school." I nodded, looking down as I toyed with a rock using my foot. A warm hand was under my chin and making me look up. "Sleep well, Cate." For once, he didn't call me Princess.

"Uh," I was slightly dazed at the force and emotion behind the order. "Yes, pleasant dreams," Paul's hand linger for a minute on my face, before he dropped it, letting it hand at his side. He smiled, seeming pleased. He turned and started walking away, his hands deep in his pockets. He threw a smile at me over his shoulder. I shook my head, trying to regain a bit of my thoughts. I opened the door to the red house and stepped inside. I could hear some type of game glaring from the TV in the living room. Water was running in the kitchen and soft rock music could be heard upstairs.

I peeled my blue heels off my feet. Man, did they ache. Just because I wore heels all the time, didn't mean that I never got the pain from wearing them. I flexed my feet a couple of times.

"I'm home," I called out softly to the house, not really sure if I should announce my presence or not. Suddenly, the water stopped running, the TV was quiet and two sets of footsteps were approaching me. Harry came from the living room, Sue from the kitchen. They both had looks of strain and worry on their faces.

"What happened with Paul," Harry asked me gruffly. My brow furrowed. Why the hell were they so damn curious?

"He showed me around town, took me down to the beach," I explained, hoping to understand their intensity. They seemed to relax when I said that.

"Alright," Sue agreed. "Did you have a good time?"

I shrugged. "Sure, sure" Using the sarcastic tone I always used when I said that phrase. It was something my dad's side of the family said, even Grandma Kat had used it, but it always sounded hilarious coming out of her mouth.

They both frowned, but I brushed past them and up the stairs. I wasn't use to my outings being questioned. I did what I wanted when I wanted. They had another thing coming if they thought they could suddenly set a thousand rules upon me. I would fight like hell. I've been in charge of my own life for awhile now; I didn't need this stand-in family telling me what to do.

I locked my bedroom door. I was so irritated. Not just at Harry and Sue, but at Paul too. What the hell is with him and the damn confusing emotions? One minute, he is all smiles, the next he is giving a look that could rival anyone's.

I didn't need this.

I turned my music on full blast, letting the much harder music pour over me. The screaming of the singer's voice erased my thoughts. I peeled of my coat and quickly tore off my jewelry. I grabbed my towel hanging on the hook on the back of my closet and stomped down to the bathroom, not even bothering to shut off my music.

I turned the water on full blast and quickly tore off my clothes. I hissed at the heat of the water, but let it burn me. It felt good.

Soon, I was done and I wrapped my towel around me. I made my way back to my room where I changed into dark blue pajama pants and a Penn State hoodie. I yanked a brush through my hair; tomorrow I would regret not blowing drying it, but I didn't have the energy for it.

I groaned as I remembered: Tomorrow was my first day of school. How many bad days can one person have in a row?

I didn't know, but I think I was going for the record.

I shut off my lights, the pounding music still pouring out of my speakers. I curled up on my bed, bringing my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. Then and only then did I let the tears fall. They left my body in body-racking sobs. I clutched at the blankets underneath me, squeezing so hard my knuckles turned white.

I hate this, all of it. I wanted to be with my dad, Lucas; I needed them. But I was stuck in this rainy hellhole, no ways to escape.

I was so content with my life. Sure, my parents had violent arguments and I was basically an adult, taking care of myself, but it was a life I knew, a life I was use to. I wanted it back, flaws and all. I wanted to put on my toe shoes and dance again. I wanted it all back.

The saying was true; you never know what you have until it's gone. Why did I have to learn everything the hard way?

Gone—what a perfect word to describe my life. My parents were gone, shipping me off to this god forsaken place. My brother was gone, off in his own world at college. My best friend was gone, dancing and dreaming back in New York. I was lost, so lost and I couldn't find my way out. I needed someone to help me. I needed help.

As I cried, I wished that someone was there to hold me. Someone that would tell me everything was going to be okay. I needed that, but it was something I didn't have.

More gasping sobs left my body, my face stained. Suddenly, the sound of the window opening and a burst of cold air came rushing in. I could barely lift myself off the bed as a tall figure entered my room.

_Now would be the time to scream, run. Do _something_!_ My inner voice yelled at me, but I couldn't find it in me to do any of what she had said.

"Cate," I knew that voice. It felt as if I had known it my whole life. Paul walked over to me, wiping away my tears. "Don't cry," I couldn't help but wrap my arms around him and let him hold me up as I cried. Paul and I were suddenly laying down, the covers over us. He pulled my back to his chest, holding me against him. I relished in his warmth, but my tears and sobs still continued.

Paul was my strong anchor in my hurricane of emotions.

***

The next morning I woke up, alone. Last night was so hazy and I was so upset, had I just imagined it all? I sighed. Of course I had imagined it. There was no way Paul could climb up the flat vertical wall to the second story. I was foolish enough to believe that someone would actually come.

I frowned as I looked in the mirror. My hair was a rat's nest and my eyes were red and puffy.

"Wonderful," I groaned quietly. I started working on my hair—it would take the longest. After I brushed it out, turning into a poof ball, I straightened it and then pulled it back into a pony tail, the front pieces falling out since I was growing out a bad oh-my-I-want-bangs-haircut. It was decent, so I went to work on my eyes. Concealer and cover-up did a well enough job of covering the dark circles and puffiness. The only way the puffiness would go away is if I put a cool rag on top of my eyes and I didn't have time for that.

I sudden knock at my door made me jump. I quickly opened it to see a rather tired looking Sue dressed in a pink bathrobe.

"Just making sure you were up," She said, reading the question in my eyes. "You have about a half hour until you have to leave." I nodded and closed the door on her. I went to my jewelry box and picked out my rings for the day. One was purple, another red, my grandmother's ring and a metal peace sign one.

I quickly went to my closet and pulled out a purple shirt that was pleated at the waist. Along with navy trousers and a black quarter sleeve blazer, it set the base of my outfit. I slipped into a pair of red, t-strap flats and then added a layered necklace.

I looked in the mirror and decided it was decent enough. I grabbed a purple coat and a red scarf. I also grabbed my black messenger bag that I used in New York. It was leather and from Urban Outfitters. It was perfect. I could pass off as a large purse, and it allowed me to carry it around all day.

I walked down the stairs to find Leah and Seth finishing breakfast. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of eggs and bacon.

"Cate, you have no time to eat," Sue huffed as she set a pan in the sink. I shrugged and went to the cupboard.

During my search for food yesterday, I stumbled upon a box of Pop-tarts. I grabbed one of the packages and smirked at Sue. She huffed again and set to washing the pan.

I opened and munched on the chocolate pop-tart as Leah and Seth put on there coats. Seth eyed me.

"It's raining," he noted that my coat didn't have a hood. Taking a bite of my pop-tart, I pulled a small umbrella out of the pocket on my bag. It _did_ rain in New York and I was not one to be caught unawares.

Seth nodded and Leah rolled her eyes.

"Ready," I asked them. Leah just trudged out the door and Seth nodded. He and I walked out together and I put up my polka dotted umbrella, still munching on my pop-tart. I offered to share my umbrella with Seth, but he simply smiled and put up his hood. I shrugged and started on the second pop-tart.

The road seemed familiar to me, thanks to Paul's tour, and just as I thought, it only took us ten minutes to walk to the school.

The school was larger than I thought and was made completely out of wood. The front doors, where other students were piling in, were red. I noticed I was the only one with an umbrella. I shook off the thought and asked Seth where the office was.

"Right over there," He pointed to a set of doors at the end of the hallway. I thanked him and broke away from the group of students that were veering towards the left. I opened the wood door and was greeted by a bright light. The walls were a bright white and there was a long counter where there were baskets and papers scattered into organized piles. Behind the counter was a single desk that had a tiny woman behind it.

She had dark hair and tanned skin. She had on a simple sweater and was busy typing away on a computer. Like other secretaries, she had the sixth sense to notice when people needed her. She looked up from her typing to look me over.

"Catherine Rostov," she framed it as a statement. I nodded and she beckoned me towards her. I noticed her nameplate said Ms. Buckley.

She shifted through the papers on her desk. "I would like to welcome you to the Quileute Tribal School," She produced a half sheet of paper and another one that looked like a map. "This," She held up the half sheet of paper, "Is your schedule. And this is a map. The school isn't too complicated. The halls are arranged by subject. Just follow this and you'll be fine. Ask another student or teacher if you need help. Got it?" She asked rather brusquely. I nodded, a little bit freaked by her tone. She handed me the papers and went back to her typing. "Oh," She said as I turned around. "You're locker number is at the top of your schedule. It is located by the other sophomore lockers. Have a nice day," I blinked.

"You too," I managed to get out. I left the office and entered a busy hallway. I looked down at my schedule. My first class was English, followed by Biology, Art III, Honors US History, Lunch, Algebra 2, Language, Study Hall, and Gym. My eyes bugged out. Art III? HONORS History, Algebra 2?

What the hell?!

I can't take those classes. I had never taken an Art class and I was only in Geometry back home. And as far as I knew, honor classes were for smart people.

This is ridiculous. I need to change my classes.

I marched right back inside to the office. The rude Ms. Buckley looked up at me.

"Yes,"

"Who do I see about changing my schedule?" I held up the offensive half sheet of paper.

"You can't change it. You've missed the two week deadline. All students have the first two weeks of school to change their schedules. We are now in our third week, you can not change it." She went back to her typing.

"Excuse me? That is totally ridiculous. I am a new student; I should be allowed to change it." I argued.

She shrugged. "Sorry, same rules still apply to you, missy."

"We'll see about that," I left the office, letting the door slam behind me. I looked down at my schedule. My first class was room two-oh-three. According to my map, it should be in the second hall way to my right. I started my way there, deciding to find my locker later. There was hardly anyone in the halls as the bell rang. I got to my class several seconds after the bell rang. The door was still open and I walked in.

All talking in the room immediately stopped and all eyes turned to me. The teacher was a tall, younger man with dark hair. He smiled at me.

"You must be Catherine," he motioned me forward, plucking the schedule out of my hand. "I'm Mr. Morgan, by the way,"

I nodded. "It's just Cate, actually, Mr. Morgan."

"Well," He smiled. "Just Cate, you can take a seat behind Sarah," He pointed to a girl with light brown hair and glasses. "But first," he reached to a shelf behind his desk and grabbed book. "This is the book we're reading. Hopefully, you'll be able to catch up." He gave me a worn copy of _Speak_ by Laurie Halse Anderson.

I handed the book back to him. "I already have a copy," I explained. He smiled, nodded and handed me my schedule. I quickly walked to my seat. It was the third one back in the row closest to the windows. I sat down and unbuttoned my coat, taking off my scarf, stuffing it in my bag.

I tried to ignore all the stares I knew I was getting. I turned my attention to the windows, the raining pelting them softly. The morning as a light gray-blue and the trees in the distance seemed ominous. I thought I saw a strange flash of color in the trees, but when I blinked it was gone.

I shook my head and looked down at the map, trying to locate my next class. It was just in the next hall over, the same hall as my locker.

Mr. Morgan ended class five minutes early, giving the students time to talk. A quiet buzz started around me and I couldn't help but hear the questions.

"Who's that?" One boy asked. I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder I turned to find a dark skinned boy with braces looking at me. His eyes matched his hair color, muddy brown, and he seemed short.

"Hi," He started, his voice shaky. "I'm Ryan Adler,"

"Cate," I offered, leaning back into my seat, crossing my arms.

"So where are you from?" He asked, tensely.

Fortunately, the bell rang.

"New York," I told him as I gathered my things. I easily found my locker, and opened it, sticking my coat inside. My Biology class was only a row of lockers down from mine and so I got there relatively early.

The teacher was an older woman, who was currently hunched over her desk.

"Hello, I'm Cate Rostov. I'm new," Her head snapped up to reveal a pair of blue eyes hidden behind thick glasses. Her unnatural red hair stuck out in all directions.

"Oh yes," She shuffled the papers on her desk, before she turned around and handed me a thick book. "Here are a syllabus and my class rules," She handed me some papers and then waved her hand around. "Just sit where ever," She returned to looking at her desk.

I turned and looked at the tables that where already full. I bit my lip looking for an empty seat. I felt someone poke my side. I nearly jumped and saw Paul grinning down at me. I glared at him. He rolled his eyes.

"You can sit with me," He pulled me to a table in the very back. I sat down, setting my bag on the floor, placing my book on the table top. I noticed that Paul only had a notebook with him.

"So," I started. "What is with that teacher?" I gestured towards the woman holding her head in her hands.

"Oh," Paul smiled. "That is Mrs. Hathburn. She has always been a little off." His dark eyes lit up. "Today is an off day for her, which means it's a free day for us."

"Hm," I mused, pushing my book off to the side.

"So, how was your night?" He asked, his voice light. My brow furrowed.

"It was alright, I guess." I looked him over for any signs of him remembering last night. His face stayed smoothed.

"Just alright," He half smiled.

I nodded, smiling. "Yup," Well, I guess I'm crazy. Great. "What about your night?"

He shrugged. "It was kind of long," he yawned and it made the bags under his eyes more noticeable. "I'm tired." He looked tired.

"Take a nap," I shrugged.

He shook his head. "And miss talking to you," he smirked. "No way," I elbowed him. "Ow, meanie."

"You big baby," I shook my head and smiled, elbowing his side again. He just rolled his eyes. He suddenly reached down and came back up with my schedule.

He studied it for a long moment. "We have several classes together,"

"Great," I teased.

"We have lunch, Language, Study Hall and Gym together," He seemed excited. I rolled my eyes and snatched my paper back, stuffing it back into my bag. "Wait, how do you have Art three? You're a sophomore."

I groaned, "I think they stuck me in their since I was enrolled in the dance program. I hate my schedule, but that bitchy secretary told me I couldn't change it."

He raised his eyebrows. "Yea, Ms. Buckley has something shoved up her ass sideways. Sorry, Princess,"

I glared at him. "Don't call me that,"

"Princess? Why not?"

"I don't like it. It makes me sound snobby or something," I grimaced. That was the last thing I needed was people thinking I was full of myself.

"Fine," He thought for a moment. "I'll call you…Grace," He finally said.

"Grace?" I scoffed.

"Yes, Grace. I mean the way you totally moved out of the way the other night. You were graceful." He smiled lightly.

I blushed. "Thanks, Paul."

"Welcome," Suddenly the bell rang. "Ready to face the day?" Paul laughed as we stood up.

"Sure, sure"

**AN: HA! I have finished the chapter and my arms hurt. It was eight pages long on word which is long for me. Well kinda. Anywho. I hope you like it! Thanks for reading! REMEMBER!!!!! Go to my website to check out the new outfits and links!!  
**


	5. Hysteria

**Chapter 5**

**Hysteria**

_Yeah I'm endlessly  
caving in  
and turning inside out _

**Hysteria- Muse **

Paul walked me to my next class, which was Art. I shuddered thinking of the impossible, arty things that I would be asked to do. I would have to do them or risk failing a class. Sure, I may not be Albert Einstein, but I did care about whether or not I got good grades.

"Hey, you'll be fine," Paul said comfortingly, reading the worry in my eyes.

I sighed. "One can only hope," I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, turning my head slightly to look up at Paul. "Thanks Paul. I'll see you,"

Only one corner of his mouth pulled up. "Later," he paused. "Princess." He took off down the hall. I glared at his retreated back. He was always so close to getting on my good side and then he went did something idiotic. What a jerk-face.

I walked into the art room getting hit in the face with the smells I couldn't place. The room was quite big with several large tables pushed together in the middle. The room was cluttered, but not messy. Artwork hung all over the walls along with band posters. Several kids were already getting started, pulling out canvases and supplies.

"Can I help you," Asked whom I assumed was the teacher. He was wearing a red, knit sweater and had on a pair of rimless glasses that made his young face look smart, instead of nerdy.

"I'm Cate. I'm new," This was starting to get old. Realization flickered across the teacher's face.

"Oh, right. They told me about you," He seemed hopeful for some reason.

"Listen," I started, holding up a hand. "I shouldn't be in here. First off, I'm a sophomore. I shouldn't even be in here. Second, I haven't taken an art class since middle school. Lastly, I'm not a artist, not in the sense you use it. I'm a dancer. I guess they stuck me in here, thinking I was just gifted in all forms of art." I took a breath, feeling a bit better after my rant. The poor teacher looked amused .

"Oh, well. That shouldn't be a problem." He smiled and put a hand on my shoulder, steering me towards a seat next to a red headed boy. "You don't have to be an acclaimed artist to make art. Just follow your imagination." He placed a piece of gray paper and a piece of charcoal in front of me. "Do whatever you feel like," He left me with a smile and then hurried to the other side of the room to help another student.

"Right," I muttered, setting my bag on the ground. I grabbed the charcoal and stared at the blank page, trying to think of what to do. Didn't art have to send a message of some sort? I sighed in frustration.

"Just draw whatever you feel," The red headed boy piped up beside me. I glanced over at him. His red hair flopped into his brown eyes. He was paler than me but seemed very tall though he was hunched over his own artwork. He was...cute. _But not as cute as Paul._ Shut up, stupid inner me.

I looked back at my blank paper. "There isn't enough paper for that," I muttered. I could see from the corner of my eye that he was looking at me, probably trying to read my facial expression. I averted my face, hiding it. It was then that it hit me. I began drawing, ignoring the black dust that got on my hands.

After what I seemed like a long time, I looked up from my drawing. It was rings intertwined with rings. They were twisted into each other, still separate, but joined at the same time. At least that's what it looked like to me.

The teacher, who's name I still didn't know, walked over to me and and studied my drawing. He broke into a smile.

"I told you so," He smirked and I suddenly felt like hitting him.

"Uh, Mac, I think you're making her angry." The red haired boy piped up. How did he know that?

This made him smirk more. "Sorry, Miss." He needed punched. "It's good. You won't have a problem in this class." He walked away with my drawing, taking a magnet and sticking it onto a chalkboard.

"He really likes it if he puts it on display," The boy informed me. Did people like walking around nameless?

"Oh, really..."I trailed off, hinting at the fact that I didn't know his name. He wasn't slow.

"Right, I'm Day."

"Day?"

He smiled. "Yup. A nickname given to me by my great-grandmother. My real name is Darcy." He cringed and I laughed and then thought for a minute.

"Darcy is Irish," I noted and then laughed. He threw me a questioning glance. "Mr. Darcy," I laughed again. "From_ Pride & Prejudice_, you know.

"Oh yea, it is." He blushed slightly. "You know, I didn't catch your name."

I mentally slapped my forehead. "Oh, I'm Cate, short for Catherine."

"That's Irish, too." Day was smart, that much was for sure. And an artist. He had been sketching out different faces of several celebrities that was apparently for a project.

"Yes, my mom is Irish. My grandparents moved over right they married. What about you?"

He smiled. "My grandparents also moved here,"

"How did you end up in La Push?" I asked.

"My mother came here on vacation and fell in love with my dad," He rolled his eyes. "She moved out here and then I was born." He eyed me. "How did you come to be in La Push?"

"Uh, my dad's mother was from here and my parents are getting divorced..." I trailed off. Just talking about it was making me depressed.

"Oh," He looked down at his sketch. "I understand," His face told me that he really did understand. He laughed then, but there was an edge to it.

"What?"

"Our family history's are sort of the same,"

I raised my eyebrows. "Yea, I guess they are. Mothers are of Irish decent and our fathers are Quileute."

"That's funny," He laughed again, this time it sounded more natural.

I smiled as the bell rang. "It was nice meeting you, Day," I picked up my bag only to be stopped by a voice.

"What's your next class," Day asked me.

"Honors US History," I told him, my map at hand.

"I have history too. I'll walk you," He gathered his books and led me over to the next hallway where the class was located. I took a seat next to him after gathering a book from the teacher who was a short, balding man.

"So, Cate, where are you from," Day asked me as the teacher got the overhead ready for the notes.

"Manhattan," I answered him, pulling out a notebook and a pencil.

"That explains a lot," He mused, pulling out a single sheet of crisp paper and a pen.

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean,"

He shrugged. "You just have this air of sophistication about you,"

I felt one of my seldom blushes creep up my neck. "Oh," I didn't know what to say to that. Sophistication was usually associated with being snobby. That was something I didn't want to portray about myself because that wasn't who I was.

"It's not a bad thing," He said quickly. The teacher turned off the lights, the room becoming pitch black since it was an interior classroom and didn't have widows. He flipped the overhead on and started rambling about the American Revolution. I wrote down all the notes and even penned some the teacher's boring side points. I had already missed three months of information. The tribal school started in mid-August, unlike other schools that didn't start until the first week of September. At NYSPA, school was basically all year around. Technically the school year ended at the end of May, but most students took summer classes. It was like going to school without being graded and minus the academics.

The teacher, whose name I still didn't know, finished the notes and handed out a worksheet that was due the next day.

The bell rang and I took out my schedule to discover that it was already time for lunch.

Day was at my side as we walked out of the room but Paul was leaning against the lockers across from the room, his arms crossed. His expression was a bit tense as he sized up Day, smirking as he took in Day's lanky six foot frame. I rolled my eyes and exhaled sharply, annoyed but at the same time it pleased me to see that Paul was jealous.

"See you later, Day," I cooed just to see that angry pout that took over Paul's face.

"Later Cate," Day called back, meeting Paul's glare. He took off down the hall.

I turned to face Paul, smirking. "Hey Paul," He narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think you should hang out with him," He looked pointedly over my shoulder to where Day had walked.

I glared up at him. "Oh and why not?" I crossed my arms, annoyed. I hated being told what to do.

"Listen, I know you don't like taking orders," It threw me for a minute that he had noticed that. "But Day," He paused for a moment. "He doesn't have the best reputation." He softly grabbed my wrist and started towing me towards what I assumed was the direction of the cafeteria.

"And how would you know about Day's reputation?" I asked as he pulled us into the line.

Paul snorted. "Everyone knows about him. Plus, you're new. Everyone is interested in you for that simple fact. It's not every day that you get a new, pretty girl at a school of only sixty-some kids." he smiled as he piled his tray high with food. I grabbed a tray, following his lead. I eyed the food, trying to decipher what was edible and what wasn't.

I settled on a bowl of seasoned, curly fries; they looked like they had just been stuck in the oven, nothing else done to them.

I paid for my fries and walked along side Paul to a round table near the back of the small cafeteria. Sitting there was, Jared and Kim. I looked around for my cousins and found Seth sitting with some younger boys and Leah was with a group of senior girls. Of course, Embry, Jacob and Quil had a table all to themselves. I waved first to Seth and then to the three musketeers.

Paul and I sat across from Jared and Kim. Paul dug into his food and I picked up a fry and munched on it. It was then that I noticed the stares that Jared and Kim gave each other. Kim wasn't the most attractive girl with too wide cheekbones and eyes that were too small to balance the rest of her face out. Her thin, black, wispy hair was pulled into a ponytail. Despite this, Jared looked at her as if she was God's gift to mankind. Kim's dark skin was slightly darker on her cheeks, from blushing. They must have been together awhile or it was a new love. I decided to ask.

"So, Kim, how long have you and Jared been together," I asked, munching on another fry. Kim took a sip of her chocolate milk, her face darkening.

"Since the beginning of the school year," She answered, taking a bite of her sandwich. Ah. So it was a new love.

"Mm. How did you two meet?" I ate faster now, my hunger gnawing at me.

She blushed again. "We were in the same home room," She giggled a little. "It was kinda like love at first sight," She turned her head, her lips meeting Jared's for a brief second.

My brow furrowed and my mouth twisted. Kim noticed.

"What is it?"

"I don't really believe in love," Jared shot a look at Paul whose fork had stopped midway to his mouth.

Kim frowned. "Oh, that's sad. Why don't you believe in love?"

"Love just doesn't...make sense to me. People do and say crazy things; they act crazy and blame it on 'being in love'. It just sounds like a pathetic excuse for people to act irrationally." I was scowling at my fries now. I noticed that Paul had suddenly stopped eating, his face contorted into some unknown emotion.

"Hey, are you alright Paul," I couldn't help but ask. I didn't like seeing his face like that. _It's kind of your fault._ How was it my fault? My inner me really needed to shut her mouth.

"Yeah," he answered, dejected. "Perfect." The word was like acid through his teeth. It made me flinch and my nose tickled, forewarning me that I was going to cry. I stood up and tossed my fries into the nearest garbage can. I didn't go back to the table, I simply headed for the exit. I wouldn't cry in front of them.

_He hurt your feelings._ But why did it hurt so much? _Because you like him, you idiot. _ I felt a single tear escape as I walked to my locker. I had just shoved my books in there and I liked a bit of order in my locker.

How could it be that I liked Paul so quickly. We had only had a handful of conversations, but yet there was something that drew me to him. There was this pull and I just had to be around him. Even just leaving him in the cafeteria, it had hurt me, even more than Paul's words.

I stacked my books according in order of my classes. I took out my schedule, trying to memorize it. So I had Algebra II followed by Language, Study Hall, and Gym at the end of the day. I groaned, thinking of Algebra II. Geometry had been hard enough. I didn't understand what the point of Language was. Study Hall and Gym were my saving grace. I didn't mind a class where I could sleep and Gym was just easy. Hit a ball, throw a ball, catch a ball. Easy.

I jumped when someone tapped my shoulder. It was Day.

"Hey, I saw you run out of the cafeteria." he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Is something wrong?" he snorted. "Or did Paul do something?"

My brow furrowed. "Why would you say that Paul was at fault?" I crossed my arms, suddenly defensive. I didn't like the way he said Paul's name.

"Everyone knows about Paul "Bad Tempered" Walker." He smirked. "That guy has some serious issues." I was about to open my mouth to defend Paul when a voice cut me off.

"Really? I have issues. That's hilarious coming from the man-whore of La Push." Paul's easy voice was barely even as he sauntered towards Day and I. He took a defensive stance in front of me. The height difference between Day and Paul wasn't much, but Paul was pure muscle, but Day didn't back down from Paul.

_My money's on Paul,_ For once, I agreed with my inner voice.

Day's brown eyes narrowed. "I know you and your_ gang _think you guys are the shit, but if you wanna go then we can take this outside, where you won't have back up."

Paul snorted a laugh. "The only reason they would be there would be to cheer me on. Every guy has been waiting for the right excuse to beat the shit out of you. But I'm tired of waiting an excuse." His fists clenched and his body shook, more like trembled.

Before I could think, my hand was on Paul's forearm.

"Paul," I called his name softly. He turned his head to look me in the eye. Brown met blue and the tremors stopped. He closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. He turned his head back to Day and opened his eyes.

"Stay away from her," He all but growled. Day took a step back, put off by Paul's tone. He shot a look at me.

"Don't let him push you around," He warned. "See ya around, Cate," He quickly made his way down the hallway.

Paul's shoulders were tense and he took several deep breaths. I waited a moment. He still didn't say anything.

"Are you alright," I asked him. He turned on me, my back to the lockers. His dark eyes peered into mine.

"I'm sorry," I knew he was apologizing for more than what had just happened.

"It's okay," He was forgiven. It was hard to stay mad at Paul. He sighed, though he still seemed troubled. "What's wrong,"

He narrowed his eyes in the direction Day had scampered off to. "I want to hit him,"

I chuckled. "I bet you do." I shook my head, hiding the pleasure that I was pleased at Paul's obvious jealously. Paul smiled, his white teeth bright against his dark skin, and my heart sped up.

Stupid Paul.

"Just promise me that you'll stay away from him," Paul locked our gaze and I couldn't help but nod.

"Alright, I promise," I breathed.

Stupid Cate.

His smiled widened. My heart reacted again.

Stupid heart.

The bell rang suddenly, sending students out into the hallways. I jumped at the sound and grabbed my purse and notebook out of my locker. Paul was still standing there. He smirked at me. He was going to get that smirk smacked right off his face.

"I'll see you in Language, Princess," He ran off before I could smack him. I groaned and found my Algebra II class. I knew, for sure, that I was going to already fail this class.

The teacher was a woman in her thirties with big, curly, brown hair. She was writing something on the SmartBoard as I approached her.

"Hello, I'm Cate Rostov," She turned and smiled warmly at me.

"Hi," Her voice was high, but sweet. "I'm Mrs. Haught," I nearly laughed at her name. "Yeah, I know the name is funny." She chuckled and handed me a book. "This is our book, we will be starting the second chapter today, so don't worry about the first chapter. Plus, this is easy stuff. Your seat will be right next to Samantha, the girl with blond hair in the middle row. Do you have any questions?" I was amazed she had gotten all that out with barely taking a breath.

"No, I'm good." I gave her a small smiled. Her answering smile was wide.

"Well, if you ever do, I'm here until about four o'clock everyday. Math isn't always the easiest subject." She smiled comfortingly at me. I instantly felt better about Algebra. I took the seat next to the girl she had pointed out.

Samantha was a bottle-blond with plain blue eyes and a tan that could only be obtained by a tanning bed. I raised an eyebrow at her, but took out a sheet of paper and carefully took notes. The lesson seemed easy enough, but I couldn't help but notice glares that I was getting from Samantha.

_Okay, someone obviously has a problem,_ Got that right. I ignored Samantha and began working on the assigned homework, working my way through the problems. I heard someone clear their throat next to me. I turned to see Samantha with what I'm sure she thought was a pleasant smile.

"Hi, I'm Samm," She introduced herself with a nasal voice, flipping her hair back.

"Cate," I muttered indifferently and went back to my homework. Apparently, _Samm_ wasn't done talking to me.

"I heard you're from New York. What was your old school like?" She was digging for my old popularity status. I wondered what she would think if I told her I was in the top of my class, dance class that is. That all the other dancers looked to me for leadership and help. Not that I was ever going to tell her.

"It was an performing arts school, if you must know," I said in a polite tone though my words were anything but.

Her eyes narrowed, catching my tone. "Hm. That sounds like fun." She sniffed. "I bet you miss your friends," Still digging.

"Sure, who wouldn't?" When was she going to realize I wasn't going to give in to what she wanted. She was going to get no information out of me. The bell rang, effectively ending the conversation. I grabbed my books and headed out the door and towards my next class. It was Language, the class I had been dreading all day. I took a deep breath before I walked into the class. My eyes went directly to Paul was who was sitting at the back of the class. He smiled when he saw me, reassuring me as I walked up to the teacher.

The teacher was a tall, dark haired man. His mouth was set into a tight, angry line.

_It's not you. You just walked into the class room. _I hoped my inner voice was right. I carefully approached the teacher and told him that I was new and my name. He barely glanced at me as he handed me a workbook and told me to find a seat. I nearly ran to Paul and the seat waiting for me.

Instead of desks, there were gray tables that sat two people. I already felt better being next to Paul. I just wanted this day to be over.

Once I sat down, I took a look around the room. Above the black board there was the Quileute alphabet. Holy...there were thirty-seven letters and nine of them were the letter "k". They expected me to learn this? Why must people ask me to do the impossible?

With a frustrated sigh, I put my head down on the table. I felt Paul rubbing my arm, but I kept my head down. I really, really hated life.

My brooding was interrupted by a the teacher's voice calling out some weird choking sounds. I raised my head and everyone else around me muttered back a reply. My lips tightened into a thin line and my eyes burned.

It was so agitating to be in class where you knew absolutely nothing. The teacher continued speaking in the odd, choking language and the rest of the students pulled out their work books and opened them up. I followed suit and looked over to catch the page number from Paul. I flipped my book open and frowned when I couldn't recognize anything on the page.

"Alright," The teacher finally said in English. "Homework check," He went around the room with his grade book, putting a check mark on the page and then marking the grade down in his book. When he got to the back row, he looked over Paul's page and nodded. "Good work, Paul." He continued on to me. "How much do you know of the Quileute language?"

I blushed. "Nothing," I muttered, embarrassed.

He raised an eyebrow. "I believe in your file it said you were part Quileute, which is why you were put into this class." He was questioning my ancestry?

"I _am _part Quileute." I said, my voice laced with annoyance.

"Mr. C," Paul interjected. "Cate has only been to La Push one other time. She hasn't spent a lot of time here."

"Didn't your parents teach it to you?" Mr. C questioned.

I shook my head. "My father isn't fluent in Quileute." Sure, he had been, once. Grandma Lucy had taught all of her children the language; she had planned on teaching me, but she died before she got the chance. My dad barely used the language once he moved out and then never after Grandma Lucy died.

"Well, I'll have a talk with the vice principal and see if we can get you moved into a different class." With that he walked towards the last of the students. I felt completely mortified, embarrassed. The way he said it made it sound as if he was completely disappointed. It's not my fault that I was never taught Quileute. I sunk low into my chair, bringing my knees up.

"Cate, it's okay." Paul whispered into my ear. "You didn't grow up here, you can't help that you don't know Quileute." His arm slung across the back of my chair, his warm hand resting on my shoulder. His words were comforting, but I still felt embarrassed.

_It really isn't your fault. Paul's right._ I hate it when everyone, even inside my head, is right. I tried to shake off the embarrassment and listen to what the teacher was saying. Of course, I understood absolutely nothing. Paul was very fluent and even seemed bored at times. The same went for Jared, who was also in our class though he was a grade ahead of Paul and I. They seemed to understand the language perfectly, with no trouble at all. That did nothing to my complex about not knowing anything.

I wasn't use to not knowing something. Algebra was one thing, but most other things I knew. This was something I should have known, but didn't. Hell, I knew French but that wouldn't help me in Quileute. As I listened, the language made no sense. Each letter "k" had a different sound, had a different meaning in words. The words looked like a five year old pretending they knew how to write. What in the world were the Quileutes thinking when they invented this crazy language?

I would learn Quileute, even if I had to read until my eyes fell out of my head and my tongue dried up from talking so much. I was determined to learn this damned language.

When the bell rang, I walked up to Mr. C, motioning to Paul to wait a minute.

"Um, Mr. C," He looked up from his papers, giving me a look to continue. "I would like to stay in this class and try and learn Quileute."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure that would be best for you Catherine. The kids in here have been taught this language since they were in preschool. Quileute is a very complicated language."

"I realize that, but I would really like to have the opportunity to learn." I suddenly felt a warm arm over my shoulders. It was Paul.

"C'mon Mr. C. I'll be her tutor. She'll be speaking it in no time," He flashed his bright smile. Mr. C sighed and then shot a look at me.

"As long as you understand that it is going to be very hard to learn Quileute and your grade might suffer in this class, then alright." He sighed, resigned.

"Thank you," I said, grateful. Paul towed me out of the room and down the hallway.

"Will you really help me?" I asked him, straining my neck to look up at him.

He snorted. "Of course I will. I wasn't making that up back there. Quileute is very hard and you would get no where if someone didn't help you."

"Why is it so easy for you?" I asked him.

A strange look crossed his face. "I use it a lot," That was all he would say on the matter. He walked me to the study hall room which was only half full.

I turned towards Paul, "Thank you, for everything." I gave him a smile which sparked his own, wonderfully bright smile.

"Anything for the Princess," He chuckled and I smacked his arm.

"Idiot," I muttered.

"Aw, c'mon. You know you love it when I call you 'princess', Princess." He smirked and dodged my slap.

"Just get out of here before I murder you and throw you into the ocean," I muttered violently, walking into the class room with Paul laughing behind me. The bell rang so I picked a random seat at the back of the room. I pulled out my Algebra homework and worked on it, not wanting to take it home. I was able to get my History homework done too by the time the bell rang. I hurried to my last class, Gym, and it went by quickly as I played a game of volleyball. Simple.

I wasn't exactly sure if I was suppose to wait for anyone or if anyone would be waiting for me. I went to my locker, putting away the books I didn't need and pulling out the study guide for the book we were reading in English. After putting my coat and scarf on and grabbing my umbrella, I headed for the red doors that I entered this morning. Along the way I spotted Seth who looked like he was waiting for someone. I rushed to his side and was greeted with a smile.

"Cate, just the girl I was waiting for,"

"Thanks for waiting. I probably would have gotten lost," I started to smile when my phone rang. My smile grew ten times its usual size. "Lucas!" I breathed as I answered the phone.

He chuckled. "Hey Cate. What are you doing?"

"I just got out of school," I told him, nearly dancing with excitement. "Hey, shouldn't you be in class? It's only noon in PA; you have Psychology right now."

Lucas laughed. "You know my schedule? Nice, Catie, nice."

"Shut up. What do you want? You don't skip class to call your sister for no reason." Leah was standing with Seth now, rolling her eyes and walking towards the door while Seth gestured for me to follow, which I did.

"I was just wondering if you could ask Harry and Sue if it would be alright if I came up for a visit," It was raining so I put up my umbrella but nearly dropped it at Lucas' news.

"You're coming for a visit?" I repeated his words in a question form.

"Yup. I don't feel like going home." He explained and I understood. His voice was tight.

"I'll ask Harry and Sue, but I don't see why you couldn't come."

I could hear Lucas' smile. "Manners, Cate. Remember those? You have to do the polite thing." There went Lucas, being the reasonable one again.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. So how's everything?" I rolled my eyes and kept an eye on the back of Seth's gray hoodie.

Lucas paused for a moment too long for anything to be alright. "Fine," Liar. "It's just that...I don't know. Things have been feeling off lately. Maybe it's because I know that you aren't at home and in some strange place. Maybe its the divorce." I cringed. "But, at the moment a visit to La Push seems like just the right thing. My dose of heroin," He laughed.

"Ha ha, Lucas. You're such a riot," I sneered. He chuckled at my sarcasm that he knew all too well. "I don't know how on earth La Push could be the best vacation spot for you. It all rain and clouds, twenty-four seven. A serious lack of people, though the ones that are here aren't too bad." I amended thinking of Paul and Emily. Ah, crap! I had to to tell Lucas about Paul. _Shit_. Yeah, for once, I agree. _But __there isn't a relationship with Paul. Just an odd friendship._ True. Why did I jump to that line of thought anyways?

"Any pretty girls?" He asked, half serious.

"Are the girls not good enough for you in Pennsylvania?" I laughed and he chuckled. "Not any that are of legal age for you, Luc."

"There's my luck for you," He joked. I walked into the red house and instead of going to my room, I took a seat in the kitchen. Sue was already busy making dinner. I sniffed the air and cringed. Fish.

"So, when would you come up?" I asked, taking off my shoes.

"Well, we have a week off for Thanksgiving. So, I'd get on the plane as soon as my last class lets out,"

"Nice. I'll talk to them about it and call you tonight."

"Love you, Catie."

"Love you, too." I hung up my phone, slipping it in my pocket. Of course, Sue turned towards me, curious.

"Was that your brother," She asked, stirring something in a pot. I slipped off my coat and scarf, fixing my shirt.

"Yes. He wants to know if it would be alright if he could come and visit for Thanksgiving." I put on my cutest, most pleading face but it wasn't hard because I was so excited and I really wanted Lucas to come.

Sue's face softened. "Sure. I don't see why not. I'll talk to Harry of course. But you can call your brother and give him the go ahead." I couldn't help myself as I threw my arms around Sue.

"Thank you! Thank you!" I raced up to my room and quickly gave my brother the news. We talked a little bit more about his trip and then he excused himself to go to class. I glanced at the clock. It was just after three and then meant that in New York it was a little bit past eleven which meant lunch break for NYSPA. Time to call Missy.

I had to wait until the sixth ring before she picked up. "Hello," she answered the phone with a hesitant voice.

"Missy! Hey. I miss you so much," I prattled.

"Oh yea, I miss you too. How's the Middle-of-Nowhere?" She asked, sounding distant.

"Boring, but getting better. Paul is...well things are weird but, you know what I mean,"

She was still sounding distant. "Oh, yeah." There was background noise; somebody asking her who it was, her answering. I knew that voice!

"Miss, is Aimee there with you?" I asked in a shocked voice.

"Um, yeah. We were just working on the dance." I could picture her biting her lip as she hid the real truth from me.

"Right. Why don't you call me back when you are alone," I sighed, defeated. "Bye Melissa." I hung up, sad. I knew that me and Melissa were probably going to lose the intense friendship that we had, but I thought that we could still be good friends. I've only been gone three days and Aimee has already sunk her claws into Melissa.

I wiped away the stray tear that feel. "Wonderful," I muttered as I finally noticed the boxes that were in my room. The rest of my things had arrived. I dug through the one box that I knew my books were in and pulled out _Speak_. My copy was very worn, the spine had crease from being opened so many times. I was able to answer all the questions on the study guide without having to refer to the book. I heard Sue call out that dinner was ready and with a sigh, I made my way down the stairs.

It was weird sitting at the table with the Clearwaters. It was too much like a made-for-TV movie. The food was...repulsive. Fried fish, mashed potatoes, and green beans. The mashed potatoes were the only thing I ate. I hate green beans and the fish was too greasy. I got up, leaving my plate at the table and went back to my room only to grab my towel and head into the bathroom. My hair was going to need washed everyday if it got rained on. I sighed as I turned on the water and quickly showered. I changed into the regular pajamas I wore at home; a camisole and my boy short underwear. I went to sorting through the boxes that had arrived, drying my hair after a few minutes.

Soon, all the boxes were either sorted through or put in the closet until I needed them. I crawled into my bed then, pulling the covers around me tightly. My suddenly long day crashed over me like a tidal wave.

All the stresses of NYSPA were replaced by new ones: Samantha(she is going to be a problem, for sure), Paul, losing my best friend to my enemy, my evil class load. The only good thing was that I was going to see my brother. I tried to pretend that the rain hitting my window was the traffic of New York. I felt a few tears escape as I felt my home sickness set in.

**AN: I'm SO sorry I took so long to update. I got really sick, my grandma had a heart attack, my cousin just passed away, my mother had surgery. Yeah, life sucks. This chapter is KINDA boring, I know. But we do get some Paul/Cate FLUFF! And this chapter was 10 pages so its long!**

**_REMEMBER_ to go to my homepage and check out the links. There is a new one for Cate's pajamas. Not the interesting things, but super cute! Thank you for all the reviews! They make me happy! Thanks for reading! KISSES!**


	6. Stuck On You

**Chapter 6**

**Stuck On You**

_Stuck on you 'till the end of time  
I'm too tired to fight your rhyme  
Stuck on you 'till the end of time  
You got me trapped inside_

**Stuck On You- Paramore **

The week passed. Paul promised to tutor me in Language but I had barely seen him all week. He managed to show up to school on Thursday after being gone on Tuesday and Wednesday. When I asked where he had been, he avoided the question, teasing me about worrying where he was and how I had missed him oh so much. His words, not mine.

While I refuted his claims, blowing them off, I was trying to hide that fact that I had, indeed, missed him.

It was crazy. I had only know Paul for a couple of days. I should not be missing him and worrying about him. What was the world coming to? What was _I_ coming to?

Since Paul wasn't tutoring me, I had free time. The Internet could only take up so much of my time and my classes were proving to be easier than I thought. Honors History wasn't that much more difficult, it just moved faster. Algebra II was pretty easy too, but that was because I made sure to pay extra attention and take extra notes in that class. Now the people of the class were another story. Turns out, Samm had a couple of buddies that shared our Algebra class.

Krysta and Alexandra. I never knew three people could be so alike, in looks and personality. All three where unnaturally blonde and had even more unnatural tans. Which I didn't understand. They were all part Native American, even more than me. I didn't understand their need to be darker than they already were.

As if their bad dye jobs and horrible fashion sense weren't enough they were all bitches. I nearly felt like ripping my hair out of my head after being in the same room with all three of them. Smart-ass comments to the teacher, subtly insulting other students, trying to use their "beauty" to get what they want. It was maddening. Did they really have to so cliché? Every mean girl is portrayed like that, hence the movie, _Mean Girls_.

I could already tell that all three of them were going to be a problem. They tried to pry answers about my life back in New York out of me. At first Krys and Alex's attention seemed nice enough. They were just like the rest of the school, interested in the new girl. I could tell, though, that Samm didn't like the attention I was getting. The next day, Krys and Alex, along with Samm, were sinking their claws into me.

Another complication to my life: Day. He was a nice guy, but of course, Paul's words echoed in my head along with my inner voice who complained whenever Day flirted with me. I didn't flirt back much, unless I was in the presence of Paul. His jealousy flared something up inside me. I wasn't sure what it was, but I had this strange sense of pleasure whenever Paul got jealous which wasn't a whole lot. Day was the only guy he seemed to get jealous about.

Another phone call to Missy confirmed that she had been taken over by Planet Aimee. Wow. So much for friends forever, no matter what. Live with your heart? Her heart must be made out of clay they way she was so easily molded. That was what I told myself to feel better. I was hurt by Missy quick dismissal as me being her best friend and replacing me with my enemy.

My dad and my mom had both left me voicemails on my phone. I just erased my mom's but I felt bad about not talking to my dad. I was just so mad at him still.

Despite all this mess that my life was becoming, I had found my release.

Since Paul was too busy to be my tutor and it was now the weekend, I spent my free time dancing. My body thanked me after the short break I had taken; it had missed dancing.

I ran through the routine I had helped choreograph back at NYSPA. I ran through the exercises that Mrs. Lapski would make us do. It felt wonderful to use my muscles again, but there was only so much I could do in my cramped room. So I took my practicing to the beach. I was able to find a part that a rough square of flat rock. With my iPod on, I danced more freely to the music.

A lot of the time it was ballet, but I started infusing more modern dancing, which was what we had been starting to do before I left New York. I wasn't sure how long I had been dancing, but I suddenly felt a presence behind me. I turned to see Paul sitting on a piece of driftwood, his elbows on his knees while his head rested in his hands.

I pulled out my ear buds.

"What are you doing here?" I puffed, picking up my bottle of water, taking a long drink from it. Paul stood up and walked over, his tall frame hanging over me.

"Well, I went over to Harry's to tutor you, only to find out they you were doing "something" at the beach." He lifted his hands to make air quotes.

"Well I was doing something," I placed my hand on my hip, taking another drink of my water. "You've been MIA all week. I didn't think to expect you today."

He scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about ditching you all week. I had some things to do." He smiled sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, sure. I'm done here if you still wanted to tutor me," I offered, gathering my bag.

"Alright, Princess, let's go," He smirked, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I growled at him, but held onto his hand, mostly because of my threatening inner voice. It didn't hurt that his hand felt so hot around my cold ones. Touching him bought a sense of warmth throughout my whole body.

"Are you all caught up on your homework then," I asked him. Surely he wouldn't put my needs before his school work.

His cheeks darkened. "Not exactly," he coughed.

"Paul," I scolded. "You have to do your homework first. That's more important than tutoring stupid me."

"You're not stupid," he amended. "School is not at the top of my priorities at the moment." He admitted albeit a bit annoyed at the fact.

I scoffed. "But school should really be our only priority right now. I mean, we're sixteen. What else do we have to worry about?" Even as I said this my own life came rushing before my eyes. Who the hell I was I trying to kid? There is so much shit going on for teenagers, it wasn't even funny.

"There is a lot that goes on behind closed doors, stuff that people don't see," Paul said. I didn't think he was completely with me at that moment. His face showed that he was some place else entirely.

"Yeah. I know what you mean," We were both hiding. I knew what I was hiding, but what was Paul hiding?

We arrived at the red house and went inside. Sue was in the kitchen cooking dinner and I knew Harry was gone for the day, fishing.

"Cate?" Sue's voice called out from the kitchen. Paul followed me as I scampered into the kitchen.

"Yes,"

She turned from the stove, setting down the spoon she had been stirring with. Her eyes lit up when she saw that Paul was with me. "Oh Paul, what are you doing here," Her eyes shot back and forth between Paul and I.

Paul flung his arm around my shoulder and said something in Quileute. Sue answered him back and he laughed. I felt the agitation creep up the back of my spine. I hated not knowing.

"Let's go," I muttered, tugging Paul up the stairs to my room.

"Leave your door open," Sue shouted from the kitchen making my face flush. Paul coughed a laugh as we entered my room, leaving the door open of course.

Paul cleared his throat. "Grab your workbook and we'll get started."

A hour and forty-five minutes later I threw my work book across my room. It hit the wall with a satisfying smack. "This makes no sense!" I felt like crying I was so frustrated. I fell back on my bed, feeling a tear escape. I hated that about myself. Whenever I got frustrated or didn't understand something, I cried.

Paul laid down next to me. "I know it's hard, but you just have to keep at it." His voice was trying to be comforting, but I was just too worked up. More tears came out. "Hey don't cry. You'll get it," Paul used his thumb to wipe away my tears.

"I just feel so stupid. I'm stuck in this retarded town with people I barely know, going to a stupid school where everyone stares at me and it's annoying. Now I have to learn the most difficult language ever. I mean seriously what were our ancestors thinking when they invented this language? I can't even begin to comprehend it." I took a shaky breath, sobbing a little. Paul opened his mouth but I wasn't done. "And the future I had is practically gone. I left it behind in New York. I highly doubt that I'll be able to get that future back without taking dance classes and competing." I rolled onto my side, my back to Paul. "I just want my life back,"

I felt Paul's huge, warm arm wrap around my waist, pulling me towards him. I really should have been uncomfortable with the fact that a guy I had only known for a week was so close to me but someone decided to brake that train of thought.

_It's _Paul_ for crying out loud. Suck it up and deal with the fact that a super hot , in both terms of the word, guy is holding you. Plus you already like him, what's the difference? _

Oh, just shut up.

_Hey. You're the one that likes him, I'm just nice enough to point it out for you. _

Go away.

"What did you say?" Oops. I must have said that out loud.

"Nothing," I sighed. "Thanks for this Paul," His arm tightened around me. That did feel really nice. We laid there for a few minutes, not talking.

"I know that it's hard for you being away from home, and I understand what you mean when you say want your life back and your dreams," His voice got rougher as he said the last part. "But sometimes life gives you something and you just have to make the best of it." He took a deep breath. "Maybe you were meant to come here for some reason."

I shook my head. "I don't see how by going away from my future is meant to be,"

"You can still follow your dreams, Cate. You just have to find another way to do it." He had brought himself up on one elbow so he was leaning over top of me. "Don't be so pessimistic. You really want to dance then you will do anything so that you still have a handle on the future you want. You're good." He smiled down at me and I felt a blush creep onto my face.

"Thanks," I said, a little floored by his speech.

_He's right, you know. _

I decided not to say anything back to my inner voice, silently agreeing. Paul and my eyes held, warm dark chocolate pouring into icy blue-green. The tension in the air dissipated and was replaced with warmth as if someone had started a small fire. I could feel my heart speed up and I heard Paul's breathing becoming heavier. The warmth was wrapping around us in tight bubble. My inner voice was rejoicing in what was about to happen but the other part of my mind, the more sane part, was telling that this was way too fast and I was finding myself agreeing with that sane part. My body, though, was failing to comply with what I was telling it. Instead, I found myself moving closer to Paul, our faces so close.

"Cate, Paul. Dinner!" And the bubble of warmth was popped by Sue's shrill voice. Paul cussed underneath his breath as he got up off the bed, helping me up in the process. He took my hand and led me down the hall. I staggered slightly, still swooning over the moment that we had just had. My head was in a daze. Dammit Paul.

We sat down at the kitchen table, already crowded with just me there, but now Paul's monster form was taking up enough room for two people.

Between Sue's insistent questions, Seth's innuendos', Leah's glares, and Harry's grunting, dinner was awkward to say the least.

Paul was oblivious to it all as he shoveled food into his mouth. He ended up eating most of my dinner too since I couldn't stand most of it. I quietly munched on a salad, trying to ignore everyone but mostly the closeness of Paul. After what had almost happened upstairs, it was just a bit awkward now that I was sitting with our legs touching. I was still in my dancing clothes and Paul never seemed to wear anything but shorts and a threadbare t-shirt.

"How's the tutoring going?" Sue asked as if she somehow knew something almost happened, taking a bit of the greasy fish.

I shrugged, munching on my leafy salad. "Fine, I guess. I still don't know anything,"

"She's just being hard on herself. I'll have her speaking Quileute in no time," Paul boasted, thankfully shallowing his food first.

"I'm sure," Leah snorted as she moved the food around on her plate.

"Leah, I will have none of that attitude. Cate should be commended for trying even if she doesn't succeed." Sue reprimand Leah at the same time insulting me. That woman had talent and it was pissing me off.

I threw Sue my best fake smile, though it was crossing into a grimace. "Thanks so much for the encouragement Sue. Hopefully your not to disappointed when I fail," The anger bubbled up in me and I closed my eyes trying to force it back. No need to show them some of the traits I had inherited from my mother. My eyes snapped open when the lights in the dining room started to flicker.

"Must be a storm," Harry grunted but I barely heard him as I focused on the light. It flickered more and more as something started to swell within me.

"Alright, that's just freaky," Seth commented, his voice holding a scared tone. I closed my eyes again and suddenly glass could be heard shattering and everything went dark. We later found out that all the light bulbs in the house had been shattered. The electricity company blamed the age of the light bulbs along with outdated wiring. Somehow I knew, though, that that wasn't the truth. I couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for what had happened. And something made me believe that Paul also knew that it wasn't outdated wiring.

**************

My foot tapped impatiently as I waited for the last bell to ring. It was the last day of school before Thanksgiving break and Lucas would be arriving in just a hour.

So I waited with the other girls from my gym class by the doors, half my body already outside.

"Cate," The gym teacher, Mrs. Forest, called to me. "Inside," I rolled my eyes and stood on the very edge of the doorway. A few seconds later the bell rang and I half ran to my locker. I threw my books inside, put my coat and was headed towards the doors in record time. I wanted to see my brother.

I didn't wait for Seth or Leah, not that she ever really waited for me; she waited for Seth, who waited for me.

I threw my hood up and walked as fast as my legs would take me. The day was dark and gray, making the afternoon look like evening. I didn't care that dirty water was splashing up the back of two hundred dollar jeans or that my hood had come off and my hair was getting soaked. I hadn't seen my brother since he had come home for the summer when I was still in New York.

"Cate!" A voice I could recognize anywhere called out for me. I didn't stop, I merely turned around and kept on walking, just backwards.

"Sorry Paul. No time to talk." I turned back around and smiled when I saw that I only had one more turn and I would be at the red house. Paul and I had gotten closer in the pass couple of weeks. Thanks to his tutoring I could now at least understand the alphabet and I could manage to pronounce most of the words.

But along with the friendship, I felt something more growing between us. Paul and I weren't completely different, but we weren't the same either. But there was just something there and it reminded me of the first time we met all over again. That tightening in the pit of my stomach, the feel of heat in the air, the sense that we were the only two people in a room. It was amazing how lost we could get in our own personal bubble.

Paul got me like no one else did, unless they had lived with me my whole life. He understood me and I understood him. Opposites attract was my only explanation, though I knew that there was more to it than just that. I just didn't know what.

Paul suddenly materialized beside me, making me a bit uneasy. How the hell did he do that?

"You meant it when you said you were excited to see your brother," He chuckled.

I smiled up at him. "Of course. I haven't seen Luke in so long. I miss him," The melancholy thought made me walked even faster.

"I'm guessing no tutoring while we're on break,"

I shook my head. "No way, not with Lucas here."

Paul rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, uh, can I still come over?" He looked over at me. "I mean, to hang out. Thanksgiving isn't much of a holiday at my house," the corners of his mouth twitched down a bit.

"Uh, sure," I answered. "I don't know what Lucas will want to do." I shrugged. "Probably just veg out and play some video games,"

Paul chuckled. "I think I'll like your brother,"

I smiled. "I hope you do. Lucas is a great brother. If I didn't have him, well I would probably would have done a lot of idiotic things," I picked up the pace as I saw the red house. I could hear Paul's laughter as I nearly ran to the house.

I bust through the door, kicking off my shoes.

"Already at home here, I see," I heard the playful voice of my brother behind me. I threw myself into his arms.

"Lukey!" I cried as he caught me, holding me to him. I was so happy to see my brother, I didn't notice how much brighter the lights had gotten in the foyer. I pulled away from Lucas and studied him. He hadn't changed one bit. Well, maybe he was a bit taller and he looked like he had been hitting the gym, a lot.

"How's my little Catie," Lucas asked as he ruffled my hair. That was the great thing about him; I would always be Catie to him, not Cate the Ballerina, not Cate the Smart Ass, just Cate.

"Better, now that you're here." I looked up at him. "Man, do you ever stop growing? And I don't see how you are as big as you are when all you do is play video games and eat ramen."

"Hey now, I do go to class and do my homework, most of the time." he winked at me, both of us knowing that he was going to achieve a perfect 4.0 GPA. Yeah, Lucas was kind of perfect and it made want to throw up half the time.

"Sure, sure. So are you all settled in?" I asked him as we walked into the living room where I saw a pillow and a blanket neatly folded at the one end of the long sofa and Lucas' duffel bag resting on the floor.

"Yep!" He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. It was then that I noticed Paul was leaning against the wall.

"Oh, how rude of me. Lucas," I turned him around, feeling his hot skin under my hand. "This is my friend Paul. Paul this is my brother, Lucas,"

"Nice to meet you," They shook hands quiet roughly and I could sense Lucas go into overly protective brother mode. They stared at each other with level gazes. It was as if they recognized each other and they both shook slightly. I could see the electricity between them.

I coughed, trying to break the tension. "Paul has been helping me in one of my classes," I said to Lucas. He turned to look at me, his gaze softer. "You have to learn the Quileute language here and well, I don't know a damned thing. Poor Paul has been torturing himself trying to tutor me. But you know that I'm not good with languages." I took a breath, hoping I had talked enough to dispell the tension. "So did you talk to Sue and Harry?" I asked Lucas.

He sighed, closed his eyes and opened them again. "Yea, I did. They said I can stay as long as I want," he smiled at the end and wrapped an arm around me, trapping me in between his hot arm and hot side.

"Geez Lucas," I complained, pushing his arm off of me. "You're like a freaking oven," I didn't miss the look at Lucas and Paul shared. I looked back and forth between them. "Alrighty then. Lukey, do you want to see my room?" I grabbed his hand before he could answer and pulled him upstairs shouting to Paul that we would be right back. I flung open my door with a "Tah-dah!"

"Nice to see you've made yourself at home," He nodded at the desk covered in CDs and books. I smiled. "It's a little..."

"White?" I supplied and he nodded, chuckling. "I know. I want to paint it but I don't have a way around,"

He nodded. "Have you talked to Mom or Dad lately?"

I sighed. "Did they tell you to ask me that?" He shrugged and smiled at me. I rolled my eyes. "No, okay. I haven't called them."

"Why don't you at least call Dad? He does miss you,"

I crossed my arms. "I know, I'm just... I'm really pissed off, okay?" I sniffed. "He knows how important my dancing is to me and still he sent me away from it," I felt the a couple of tears escape. Lucas wrapped his arms around me and cried into his chest.

"You know why he did it," Lucas rubbed my back, trying to sooth me. "It's a good thing he did. Mom is going totally ballistic. She moved out of the apartment, shacked up with some young doctor from the hospital and is going after everything, even our trust funds." Lucas' voice was very level, too level. He trembled slightly.

"What a bitch," I sniffled. "I can't believe it. She can't touch those, can she?" If she got hold of our trust funds it would be the end of the world for us.

"Mostly likely not. Dad put a lot of stipulations on those trust funds."

"Good," I sighed, leaning into Lucas even more. "I'll call Dad tonight, okay?" I looked up at him and he wiped the tears off my cheeks, smiling down at me. "Let's go downstairs. You haven't met Seth and Leah yet," I pulled out of his arms and started down the hallway; Lucas followed behind me. Seth was kicking off his shoes when we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey Cate," He smiled at me and then his eyes drifted to Lucas. "Hey man, I'm Seth," He stuck out his hand and shook Lucas' very enthusiastically. Lucas smiled at Seth.

"Nice to meet you. So where is this Leah," On cue, Leah walked through the door, shaking out her long black hair.

"Hey Leah," I called to her. She whipped her head around to look at me. I barely spoke to her directly. "This is my brother Lucas," I gestured to him like a game show hostess and noticed from the corner of my eye that Paul had drifted over to my side. I smiled at him over my shoulder, but his eyes were trained on something next to me, my brother to be precise. I looked up at Lucas and noticed his eyes were glued to Leah just as hers were stuck on him. Something passed between them.

"Luke," I questioned, shaking his arm and he seemed to snap out of it but he ignored me and went straight over to Leah, sticking his hand out to shake hers. With glazed eyes she took his hand.

"Hi," She said shyly. Wait, shyly? Leah? What the hell? "I'm Leah,"

"Lucas," My brother said his voice rather low. Why hadn't they let go of each other hands? I shot a look over at Paul and he looked like he somehow understood the psychotic sight taken place right before my eyes. I whipped my head back over to look at Lucas and Leah who were still holding hands and staring into each others eyes. Gross but it felt familiar. How though? My annoyance grew and the lights in the foyer blinked.

"Easy Cate," Paul whispered in my ear and the lights returned to their normal glow. "Let's leave them be,"

"But-" Before I could get anymore out Paul was pulling us out the door, grabbing my shoes and coat. As I bunny hopped into my shoes, I yelled at Paul. "What the hell, dude?"

"We'll talk as soon as we get out of hearing range," He said as he grabbed my arm as I tried to pull on my coat. I kept silent as Paul pulled me away from the road and into the trees. I wasn't sure how longed we walked but we stopped as soon as Paul found a rather large clearing in the trees. He released me and paced back and forth, his body trembling slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew?" He asked, half yelling.

My brow furrowed. "Knew what?"

"What I- what we _are_?" He stressed.

I crossed my arms. "I have no clue what you are talking about!"

Paul gritted his teeth and trembled a bit more. "How could you not? You're brother is one of us!"

I had no clue what he was going on about? "What are you talking about!? I don't know what you mean!" I threw my arms into the air, slamming them down at my sides. "Mind filling me in?"

Paul growled -wait, growled?- and threw his fist into a tree leaving a deep indentation.

"Tell me what the hell is going on! Now, Paul!" I ordered and he took a breath and then flung himself off the tree.

"I can't tell you." He whispered. "I can only show you." He flung off his shirt and tugged off his jeans and shoes, leaving himself naked.

"Whoa! Paul! Can't you show me _with _clothes on?" I stressed as I turned around, my face on fire.

_His ass is even nicer than I thought._

Shut up! Now is not the time for the peanut gallery.

_Admit it! He is fine as hell. _

God dammit! Fine. He is a super hottie! Can you go away now?

_Just turn around. _

No he's naked!

_All the more reason to. _

I hate you.

_Don't hate yourself. _

Idiot.

_Retard. Now turn around._

I did as my inner voice said and turned around. Paul was still standing there, naked, but with his back -_and super fine ass-_ towards me.

"You're not gonna rape me or anything, right?" I tried to joke but he stood there, still as stone.

"Just...stay...where you are, Cate," Then, before I could blink, Paul's shape began to shimmer around the edges and slowly it changed becoming larger and -wait, furrier?- completely taking over Paul's body. I blinked and suddenly there was a huge dark sliver wolf standing in front of me.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed quietly, throwing my hands over my mouth. Then, like a crazy woman, I started laughing. I fell to the ground and just laughed hysterically. The huge animal in front of me just sat down and tilted its head to the side and watched me.

I wiped the tears off my face and stood up. "Okay. This has got to be a dream or a really bad trip. Maybe I'm in a coma because people do NOT morph into giant dogs!"

The beast looked at me and huffed. "Fine, wolf. Better?" It nodded it's head. "Oh my god! It can understand me." I started pacing back and forth. "Alright. Where is Paul? Did you eat him?" The wolf rolled his eyes and huffed. "Are you sitting on him?" He barked a laugh. I gulped. "Are you...Paul?" He nodded his head, rolling his eyes. "Oh shit. This isn't real. Stuff like this just doesn't exist," I said, pacing again. I looked to the right of me and stared into the dark forest. I started walking further in, ignoring the protesting barking next to me. Then, I started running. As fast as I could. I just needed to get away, clear my mind.

I wasn't sure how long I was running, but it started raining in true Washington style. My coat had become waterlogged so I took it off and left it behind me on the forest floor.

No. Werewolves DO NOT exist. My brother was not a wolf-man and neither was Paul. It all had to be a bad dream that I would be waking up from very soon.

I kept running, running away from the truth. There had to be more to this, though. There was never just one thing, there was always something more.

Dammit! Why couldn't things just be easy for just once. The guy I was well on my way to liking, though I had only known him for a month, was able to transform into a horse-sized wolf and apparently, judging by our conversation, my brother was also a werewolf. Plus, there was something funky going on with me. I had been trying to ignore it the best I could, but I knew something was up.

There was a flash of light and a couple of seconds later there was loud, rumbling thunder. It was if I could feel the electricity in the air and it gave me energy. That was what I needed to keep running.

I knew it was my fault that all the light bulbs in the house had broken that one night. I knew it was me whenever the lights would flicker, dim, or get brighter. It was me. All me. I didn't want it. Why couldn't I just be normal? That was all I wanted: normalcy.

I felt the tears running down my face, mixing with the rain, as I continued to run. I didn't know where I was or how far I had ran when I finally did stop. I was in the middle of a clearing of some sort. There were no trees, just open sky pouring out its tears along with mine. Light flickered across the sky and there was loud crackling. Somehow, somewhere along the way I had lost my shoes and I was barefoot.

I paced, thinking.

Okay so Paul was a werewolf. So was my brother and I was willing to bet so was a handful of other Quileutes. That was the truth. I just had to accept it. Why deny what is right in front of your face?

I looked up when I heard a sound from the trees. Stepping out of the shadows was Paul, dressed in his usual cut offs. I crossed my arms and tried to stay warm all the while avoiding looking Paul in the eye.

"Cate, are you alright?" he asked, stopping to just a few feet away. I stopped wearing a hole in the earth and turned to look at him.

"What else is there?" I yelled at him over the rain and thunder. He stared at me, thinking. "Just tell me, dammit! I deserve to know the whole truth."

He sighed. "Fine. I imprinted on you."

I rolled my eyes. "What the hell is 'Imprinting'?"

"It comes along with being a wolf." He muttered just loud enough for me to hear. "The blazing hot skin, the growth, all of it has to do with being a wolf. Imprinting, well, Sam thought it was just another myth, another story. But now that all of us have imprinted, well I never really thought it was a myth anyways." he rambled.

"Paul what is it? You still haven't told-"

"It's like love at first sight, but not." That stunned me. Love? Was he serious?

"How is it not like love at first sight?" I managed to get out.

He took a breath. "It's not like love at first sight because its much, much stronger than that." Stronger? "When a wolf imprints, all he can see is that person, that girl. He doesn't think about anyone else. She is the most important thing to him. She is what holds him to this earth. He revolves around her. He will never love anyone else like he loves her."

"Doesn't she get a choice in the matter?" I retorted. This was all to cavemanish for me.

He chuckled. "What else will she choose when she has her other half?"

"Maybe she'll develop a crush on the neighbors dog," I joked, smiling. Paul broke into a even bigger smile.

"Maybe," He allowed. After a few minutes he asked me, "Are you okay with all this? I didn't know that you didn't know that your brother was one of us,"

"I'm...dealing with it. How did you know about my brother,"

"I could just...sense it. We had been feeling a presence of sorts. We weren't sure what it was, but I guess now we know." He shrugged.

"What do you mean, 'feeling'?" I asked, rubbing my arms. Now that I was out of my crazy woman state of mind, reason was falling back into my mind. It was as cold as balls out and I didn't have a coat or shoes. My teeth chattered a little.

"Dude, your freezing. Let's get you back to Harry's and I'll explain it all to you," With that he tucked me under his hot arm and started warming me up with his body heat. We reentered the dark forest where the rain was less heavy. "Do you realize how far you ran?" Paul asked me after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Um, no?"

He chuckled. "Were almost three miles from La Push. Who knew the ballerina could also be a track star,"

"Shut up-OW!" I yelled as I bashed my toe off a rock. "Stupid rock," I said, stopping to rub my injured toe.

"You know, we could go a lot faster if I was a wolf," Paul muttered to me, rubbing the back of his neck.

I thought about that. Was I ready to really face the cold, furry truth?

_Why deny what is right in front of you? That's what you said. _

Don't remind me. Now or never, right?

_Right. _

"Alright. Go do your transforming thing," I said, backing away from Paul. He smiled slightly and ran behind a tree. He tossed his shorts to me, hitting me in the face.

"Watch it wolf-boy!" He chuckled and it suddenly turned into a bark. Wolf Paul was pretty scary. He was huge and a pretty dark sliver color. He walked over and laid down in front of me, lowering his shoulder so I could get on him. I straddled him and grabbed onto his fur when he stood up. It was surprisingly really soft.

"Okay. Paul," He turned and looked at me over his shoulder. "Just take it easy. I was never really big on thrill rides," He barked another laugh and then took off. It was sort of like riding a horse but a little bit faster. I ended up burying my face into Paul's neck as he picked up speed. Soon than I thought possible, we were back at the tree line and I hopped off Paul's back. He grabbed his shorts out of my hands with his teeth and ran behind a tree. Seconds later Paul emerged, buttoning his shorts.

"Alright," He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the trees and started walking but not towards the red house.

"Where are we going?" I asked, holding onto his hand and drifting closer to his warmth.

"My house," He answered in a tight voice.

Oh boy.

**AN: Hi everyone! Sorry I took so long updating. But here it is. All ten pages and 6500 words. Yes. It's long. w00t!** **Do you wanna see Cate's outfit that I didn't describe? Then head over to my homepage and check it out. It's pretty sweet. So, let's see. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS THUS FAR!!! I love hearing from you guys. Muah! Thanks for sticking with me and my sparse updates. **

**THIS is not the end of Cate dealing with the wolves. Oh no. If you understand Cate at all you would know that she is going to fight like hell to avoid the truth. Right now, she is in shock and is just trying to deal with it. Be prepared for more of Cate's Inner Voice and her avoiding all that she can. Let me know what you think might happen in your review! **

**Love goes to these people for reviewing last chapter****: **Fire Daughter, writer'sblock7777, pearberry14, Nekokitten1123, sportychevyfan, vipishere, I'm-The-Invisible-Girl, 93, A Single Broken Frame

**sportychevyfan- **_Thanks so much! Yes. Day is here to stay. I got a lot of things planned for him. _

**Writer'sblock777- **_To bad I don't have any good excuses this time around. But I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think I need to go back and re-read. Lol. _


	7. All I Ever Wanted

**Chapter 7**

**All I Ever Wanted**

_All I ever wanted,  
Was to see you smiling.  
All I ever wanted,__  
Was to make you mine.__  
I know that I love you,__  
Oh, baby why don't you see,  
That all I ever wanted was you and me?_

**All I Ever Wanted- Basshunter **

Paul's house was a lot like of the other houses I had seen in La Push. It was rather small, with a single door and two small windows on either side. The dark red house looked like it was falling apart a bit. There was a single car parked out in front of the house. That too looked like it was falling apart.

We were currently standing in Paul's closet of a room. It was just big enough to fit a twin bed, that could no way fit Paul's large form, a tall, but slim dresser, and another door that led to an actual closet where Paul had pulled out a large duffel bag and was currently stuffing it full of his belongings.

"Do you need any help," I asked him. I hated feeling useless, just standing in the door way of his room.

"I'm good," his voice was tight, controlled. I sighed and started humming, taking a better look around Paul's room. The walls were blank and on his bed were dinosaur sheets. I stifled a laugh and continued looking. My eyes rested on Paul who was clearing out the last drawer of his dresser. On top of the dresser was some basic necessities along with a photo frame. I didn't get to the see the picture because Paul had snatched it away, putting it into his bag.

"Paul," I asked. "Why are you packing up your stuff?" I felt a shiver go down my spine. Oh yeah. I was soaking wet and my feet were caked in mud. Wonderful.

"Crap. You must be freezing," He paused and ran a hand through his short hair. He brushed past me and went into another room. He came back out and handed me a towel. Paul pointed to the room he had just come out of. "That's the bathroom. You can go and wash your feet off. I'll get you some dry clothes," I nodded and tip-toed into the small bathroom. It was your standard washroom with a toilet, sink and bathtub.

I twisted the knobs on the tub and waited for it to heat up before I sat on the edge and put my feet in. My frozen toes seemed to burn when they touched the warm water. I hissed at the feeling, but started moving my toes, letting them get use to temperature. I started washing the mud off, pouting at the lost of my awesome flats. My awesome, a hundred and sixty-five dollar, flats. I would have to order another pair.

Soon my feet were clean and I used the towel to dry them off. I stood up in the tub and started wringing out my clothes. My jeans and shirt would have to be dry cleaned. I used the towel to dry my hair, letting the natural waves come out. I groaned at the frizziness of it.

I went back into Paul's room. He was sitting on the bed, a hoodie in his lap. He had his hand folded in front of him, his elbows resting on his knees. When he saw me, he immediately stood up and handed me the hoodie. I was drowning in fabric, but I was warm. He grabbed my hand, the other held his duffel bag. He led me out to the tiny front room and was about to open the door when it was opened from the outside.

A small woman jumped back, startled. She had dark hair laced with grays, pulled back into a tight bun. Her dark skin was barely wrinkled except for around her mouth. A lifetime of frowning exposed as her lips pulled down at the corners. Her dark eyes narrowed.

"Well, Paul, I only expected this," she threw a hand, gesturing to me, "to happen one day." She huffed and rolled her eyes, reminding me of Sue. I tightened my grip on Paul's hand.

I looked up at him, to see his only eye I could see, narrow. "Aunt Paula, we were just leaving," His tone was like acid. I had only heard it like that once before.

Her hands went to her hips. "And just where do you think you are going? Hmm?"

"Getting out of your hair, just like you want," He lifted his bag and showed it to her. Her eyes seemed to flash with emotion but it was gone before I could see what it was. They settled on anger.

"Good," She brushed past Paul. "Good riddance," She disappeared down the hall and then a door slammed.

Paul didn't look back, he just pulled me out into the rain. His body shook with anger; his hand was nearly invisible with shaking. I pulled on his arm to stop him and made him turn towards me. His jaw was set and his nostrils were flared. I wrapped my arms around him and I heard his bag drop to the ground as both of his arms encompassed me after several moments.

I couldn't believe how right it felt to be wrapped in Paul's burning embrace. It was like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together perfectly. His shaking stopped and he let out a heavy sigh.

"Thank you Cate," I pulled away from him and smiled up at him. He smiled slightly and then picked up his bag and grabbed my hand. We started walking again in the direction of Emily's house.

After several minutes of silence, Paul spoke. "I've lived with my Aunt ever since my mom died when I was seven," He caught my questioning look. "Car crash," He explained, taking a breath. "My mom and my aunt were as close as sisters could be, hence my name. I was left to my aunt and she only took me in because she promised my mom that she would take care of me if anything ever happened to her. Unfortunately for me, my aunt hates kids. She was really strict with me and I rebelled. After the cops brought me home four times, my aunt had had it. She told me to get out. I had no where to go, well, that was until I joined the pack. Sam understood and Emily and him offered me their couch." I was about to speak, but Paul cut me off. "I realize it's mostly my fault, but anywhere is better than living _there_."

Wow. "And I thought I had it rough," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. Paul smiled slightly, but it fall just as quick as it appeared. "I completely understand Paul," I squeezed his large, hot hand, my voice compassionate.

"I know you do," As he said that, we have arrived at Emily's house. We went inside and waiting for us was Emily and Sam, expecting us somehow. Emily's unmarred eye squinted in worry when she saw me.

"Oh Cate! You must be freezing," She put an arm around my shoulders and lead me to the couch. She grabbed the blanket off the back and wrapped it around me. "I'm gonna make you some hot cocoa," She scurried off into the adjoining kitchen and my eyes drifted over to Sam and Paul who were talking in hushed tones. Paul caught me staring and I looked away quickly, smiling.

I felt so warm in Paul's hoodie, plus the blanket that was draped around me. I stuck my feet in between the couch cushions to keep them warm. But that wasn't the only warmth I felt. As Emily brought me a mug of hot chocolate, I couldn't help but feel as if this was how a mother would treat her child who had been caught in the rain. The emotion welled up inside me with those simple gestures.

Sam and Emily sat down in the love seat across from me as Paul squeezed himself in between the armrest and me, wrapping an arm around me, making me even warmer.

There was an awkward silence, the only sound being me sipping at the hot chocolate.

"So," Emily started. "How are you Cate? I mean, with the whole wolf and imprinting thing,"

I looked at her. "I'm not sure. I think the rational part of my brain still wants to deny it, even though I saw with my own eyes that it's true. The imprinting thing..." I trailed off. I was happy that I knew my feelings were reciprocated but-

_But what? _

Oh. It's you.

_What buts can there be? You love Paul, he loves you. Paul's hott and he's a nice guy. He does have a bit of a temper, but that's just a tiny flaw. What is wrong with you? _

What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? How can you _so_ easily accept this whole deal. What if he's lying? Just to get in my pants or something.

_Well, you wouldn't hear me objecting if he wanted in our pants. _

Shut up!

"Cate," Sam's voice broke through my conversation with my Inner.

"Oh, well, I guess it just that, how can I believe that? I mean, I don't even believe in love in the first place," I took another sip of my hot chocolate before it started to cool.

There was a tense silence as they took in my words. One look at Paul's face had me wanting to take what I had said, back.

"Paul, I like you, I really do. Love is just a far-fetched idea to me," I tried to explain but his face fell even more. I bit my trembling lower lip.

"Sam why don't you and Paul and give Cate and I some girl time," Emily suggested to Sam. He nodded and gave her a peck on the lips before telling Paul to follow him. I tried to give Paul my best smile, but all he could manage was a heart-breaking half smile as he walked out the door with Sam. I let out a long sigh as I sat down my mug.

Emily came over and took Paul's vacant seat. "Cate," She nudged me with her arm and I looked up at her with tear filled eyes. I couldn't help but feel like I was breaking Paul's heart and that in turn broke mine. I just wanted to hug Paul again and have him smiling again. Paul wasn't Paul without his smile.

Emily wrapped her arms around me and sobbed into her shoulder. She rubbed my back and brushed my hair down. I pulled away from her a bit and tried to talk .

"I ju-ust feel so-o bad-d," I sobbed out.

"Why do you feel bad, hun?"

"Because," I sobbed again. "I ma-ade Paul-paul feel so ba-ad." Emily pulled me towards her again and held me until I had cried myself out. After I was done, I pulled away from her, wiping my face with the blanket, seeing that I had ruined her shirt with my tears.

"Sorry about that," I apologized and she waved me off.

"It's just a shirt," She paused for a moment, "Ready to talk?" I nodded and sniffed.

"I guess so," I took a couple of minutes to compose myself. "So Sam's a wolf too," She nodded.

"He imprinted on me too,"

"How did you feel,"

Emily took a deep breath and her eyes became distant. "Cate, did you know that Leah and Seth are my second cousins?"

Surprise colored my voice. "No, I didn't. Are we related then?"

She smiled. "Not really, but we may as well be," She sighed and her smile fell. "Leah and I were best friends, like sisters." She paused and bit her lip. "And Leah use to date Sam," I could feel the shock on my face.

"But you and Sam..."

"Yes, I know." She sighed sadly.

"What happen?" I asked, wrapping the blanket around me tighter.

She sighed again. "Imprinting. That's what happened," She took another breath. "You see, Sam was the first to change and at the time Leah and him were dating. He pulled away from her because he didn't understand what was happening to him. One day the elders noticed the changes and they remembered the old pack from a hundred years ago, so they explained it all to Sam. At the time, I was still living on another reservation with my family. Well, one day Leah introduced me to her boyfriend and that was it. That was all it took for Sam, just looking at me once.

"Of course, I tried to ignore him the best I could. He was my best friend's boyfriend. Sam ended up breaking up with Leah and breaking her heart. I still would have nothing to do with him. I asked him why he did it, why he was pursuing me and he told me he couldn't help it. He told me all about wolves and imprinting. I told him to go to hell," Emily stopped to laugh and I smiled, too involved in the story.

"Well, one day Sam's anger got the best of him when we were having another fight and I refused him again. He changed a bit too close and well," She gestured to her scarred face with her scarred hand.

"Ohmigosh. So Sam did that..."

"It was an accident. He felt so horrible about it. I tried to make him feel better, but he just kept on beating himself up. He still does. Anyways, we spent a lot of time together and we just seemed almost too perfect for each other. I admitted to finally being in love with him. I had fallen in love from that first look. Not only was I imprinted on, but it felt as if I had imprinted too." She sighed, her eyes caught in a memory. To break the moment, I faked gagged.

She rolled her eye. "Don't deny that you didn't feel _something_ when you first met Paul. I was there, I saw the look on your face. You were smitten with him that first moment." She had me there.

"Well, yeah. I mean, Paul's cute and charming; who wouldn't be dazzled by him?" I took a sip of my now cold drink.

"Cate," Emily's face was completely serious now. "Why don't you believe in love?"

I sighed. "It's not that I abhor the idea of it completely. Like, I love my brother and my dad. Hell, I even love the Clearwaters, but being _in love, _that's what I can't believe in."

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "I look at my parents, who claimed to be 'in love', but look at them now. My mother has been cheating on my dad for God knows how long and they can't stand each other,"

"People fall out of love, Cate,"

"See that's just it. Falling in and falling out of love. It doesn't make sense. If you love someone, you love them. Falling out of love shouldn't be an option. Like with Leah and Sam," Emily flinched. "They loved each other and Sam stopped loving her because he imprinted on you. It shouldn't have been like that. He should have imprinted on Leah. Thats the way it should have been. Why would it be any different?"

Emily looked sad. "Sam and I have talked about it. He thinks that the purpose of imprinting is to find the best person that will carry on the werewolf gene to the next generation. For some reason, his... wolfy senses thought that I would be best candidate."

Next generation?

"Hold the phone. You're telling me this is all about..." I searched for the right word. "Mating?"

Emily laughed. "Pretty much, yeah."

I wrinkled my nose. "Well, that's just...animalistic." We both laughed that time.

"You know Cate," Emily started after we recovered. "I think that imprinting was the only way for you to ever fall in love. You're so stubborn."

I snorted. "Yeah. Forced love. The only type of love for me,"

"Are you gonna admit to loving Paul?" She asked, her eyebrows raised. I bit my lip. Would I admit to feelings like that? Did I even feel that way towards Paul?

I had very strong feelings for him. I couldn't deny the force that seemed to pull me towards him. I felt better when he was around. He just seemed to light up my world. I never thought that I would ever feel like that towards someone, towards anyone, really.

_What about that night he came into our room?_

That was a dream.

_Was it? _

Hm. Was that just a dream? Knowing now that Paul was a mythical creature, it seemed less like a dream now. I would have to ask him.

"Cate?" Emily pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I think I need time," I told her. She smiled and patted my leg.

"That's perfectly reasonable,"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure,"

"How did you take the whole wolf thing," I needed to know if I was only in the way I felt about it. How did I feel? Confused, shocked, awed and then some disbelief coated on top of that.

"Well, I was introduced to it in a rather abrupt way. As confused as I was, I accepted it. If that was what Sam, the man I love, was, well then, that was the way it was. I couldn't change it. I just had to take it. I loved Sam. If he was a werewolf, so be it."

"So your love for Sam just sort of overrode any other feeling?"

"There are times when I find myself gaping over the fact, but in a way yes, my feelings did overpower anything. It made it easier,"

"Hmm," That certainly was something to think about, but I didn't want to think about that right now. All I wanted was to take a shower and curl up in my bed, with Paul. As if on some cue, Sam, Paul along with Jared waltzed into the house.

I could feel the smile take over my face and my heart speed up. I dropped the blanket and rushed off the couch to wrap my arms around Paul. Instead of bending down to hug me, he lifted me up, crushing me to his warm, bare chest. I could feel him bury his face in my neck and hair and inhale.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into his ear. He pulled away from me to look at me.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," He smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. He set me down but he kept an arm around me, trapping me between his side and arm.

"Paul, why don't you take Cate home," Emily spoke from where she resided in Sam's arms. "I'm sure Sue is wondering where she is,"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." I nodded. I moved away from Paul and went to Emily, who had escaped Sam's arms. We hugged tightly and I thanked her for everything.

"You'll figure it all out," She told me, smoothing back my hair. "I'm always here,"

I smiled. "Thanks Emily." She smiled back and let go of me. I grabbed Paul's hand and waved goodbye to Sam and Jared, who was busy raiding Emily's fridge. I stopped short.

"Wait," Jared turned towards me, his mouth full of dry Lucky Charms. I pointed a finger at him. "Are you a... wolf, too?" I asked.

He swallowed and smiled. "For sure,"

"Alright, just checking," I let Paul lead me out of the house. It was quiet on the walk back. I thought of a song, the one I had hummed earlier.

"You hum,"

"What?" I was startled by the breaking of the silence.

"You hum. Whenever it is too quiet, you hum," He smiled down at me. I felt my cheeks heat up with one of my rare blushes.

"I can't stand the quiet," I explained.

"What were you just humming," He asked.

"_Sugar, We're Going Down_, by Fall Out Boy. Ever heard of it?"

Paul chuckled. "I'm more of a heavy metal guy,"

"Ugh." I groaned. "You're one of _those_ guys," Paul shot me a questioning look. "Ya know, the guys that are all like, 'Dude. Iron Maiden, Metallica. Rock on!'" I gave him my best guy voice and threw the horns out at the end.

Paul's eyes widen. "How do you even know of those band, Princess?"

I smirked. "My brother is one of those guys. I had to put up with it when he lived at home. I never thought I would get _Enter Sandman_ out of my head," Paul continued to stare at me.

"What," I questioned.

He shook his head, breaking his stare. "You never cease to amaze me," I chuckled.

"Well, I am pretty great," I said, flipping my hair. I smiled at Paul to let him know I was joking. We had reached the red house and all the sudden the reality of all that I had learned earlier, hit me.

Lucas was a wolf. He imprinted on Leah.

"Hey," Paul stopped me and pulled me back towards him. I rested my hands on his shoulders and he lifted my head up to look at him. "It's gonna be okay. Lucas is still your brother and that hasn't changed. He's still...well he's mostly the same person,"

I sighed. "I know he is. It's just that my perspective of him has changed." A thought hit me then. "By the way, Lucas is really, really over protective of me. So, once he figures out that you've imprinted on me and all that shit, he might give you a piece of his mind,"

"I bet he will," Paul muttered.

"What does that mean?" He confused me, again.

Realization brightened on his face. "Oh that's right. You don't know. When we're wolves, we can hear each other's thoughts,"

"Wha..."

"Yeah, I know," He chuckled.

"Isn't that a little... invasive?" I asked, a little breathless.

He shrugged. "At times, but it's really helpful when we need to come up with a game plan. It's better than trying to decode what the hell each bark means,"

This was all getting to be too much. I needed a shower and a chance to gather my thoughts.

"Let's go in," I said, stepping away from Paul. "I'm cold," He nodded and rushed me inside.

The house smelt like warm chocolate and sugar. The smell made my stomach rumbled. God, I was hungry.

Paul shut the door and Sue came in from the kitchen. She raised an eyebrow at my disheveled appearance.

"What happen to you," She asked with a bemused smile.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I went for a run in the woods," Paul coughed a laugh behind me. "Where's Luke?"

Her face hardened. "He's up in Leah's room. With the door open," She shot a glance towards the stairs.

"Right," I drew out the word. "Thanks," We started to climb the stairs and I yelled down, "Smells good Sue!"

When I got to Leah's room, the door was, indeed, open. I walked right into her room, with no manners whatsoever.

"Lucas Patrick Rostov-Reilly, get your ass over here." I commanded to my older brother. "I've got to talk to you. Now."

Lucas and Leah heads both shot up to look at me. Leah glared while Lucas like confused and amused.

"I'll be right back, Leah. I must chat with Catherine Amy," He got up from the bed, while I glared at him. We only called each other by our full names when we were angry. I told Paul to wait in my bedroom for me. I pushed Lucas into the bathroom, locking the door behind us.

He chuckled. "What has you so worked up, Catie," He leaned back against the sink.

"I know all about you Luke," I saw his eyes hardened.

"What are you talking about," His voice was tight and controlled.

I laughed without humor. "You don't need to pretend. I know everything. I know that you're a wolf. I know that you have fallen in 'love' with Leah," I let him chew on that.

He sighed. "How did you find out," I took a seat on the edge of the bathtub.

"Turns out La Push is full of mythical creatures. Paul, Sam, Jared and you are all werewolves," His eyes widen.

"It happened to them too?" He sound breathless.

"Yup. But I always knew men were dogs," I laughed at my own joke and but Lucas' face stayed the same. Shocked.

"You didn't know, did you?" I asked him. He shook his head. "Maybe you should talk to them then,"

"I should," He suddenly stood up straight. "Do know where they are?" His quickness startled me.

"Y-yeah. Paul's in my room. I'm sure he could take you to Sam," I suggested, still in shock of the rather graceful moves my rather awkward brother was making. I stood up too and unlocked the bathroom door.

"Paul," I called out to him and he came. "Good boy," I couldn't resist the joke as I patted his head.

He jerked his head away. "Hey, don't start with the dog jokes," He smiled. "What did you need,"

I smiled up at him threw my lashes. "Will you take my brother to Sam and talk to him,"

"Sure," his eyes seemed to glaze over slightly. "Sam wanted me to bring him over anyways." He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "I'll see you later,"

Lucas watched on with hardened eyes. Yup. Still protective.

"Let's go," he muttered as he walked into Leah's room and said good bye. They both waved to me as they walked downstairs.

I shook my head. "Oh boy," I sighed. I got my towel out of my room and went back into the bathroom. I took longer than usual, not wanting to leave the warmth. I scurried from the bathroom to my bedroom, in only my towel because I had forgotten my pajamas.

Once I was dressed, I blew dry my hair and tried to focus on my homework. I couldn't though; I had too much running through my mind.

I flung myself on my bed, my legs hanging over the side as I laid on it sideways.

So. Paul was a werewolf and part of a pack that included Sam, Jared, and my brother. He had imprinted on me; he loved me. As far as I could tell, all the wolves were huge and rather hot. Temperature, wise. When they transformed they didn't look like scary wolf-men, they just looked like horse-sized wolves. They could also hear each other's thoughts when they were wolves.

Did I forget anything?

_Just the fact that you love Paul,_

For the love of all that is holy! What do you want? And no, I don't love him.

_Please. You can't lie to yourself. I know that you love him. I'm just waiting for you to get off your stubborn ass and admit it. _

But, I don't love him. I would know if I loved him. I care for him deeply, but that's all.

_Really? You don't think that it could even develop into love. _

It could, but I'm fifteen. Most kids don't stay with the person they date when they are fifteen.

_But you can't imagine yourself with anyone else. You can't see yourself with anyone but Paul. _

Yeah, but that's because I'm all swept up in emotion right now. In a couple of weeks, when I've calmed down, I'll be able to think more rationally.

_How much do you wanna bet that in two weeks, you'll still feel like this. _

And how am I feeling, oh Mighty Inner Voice.

_You feel like you could never come down from where you are. You feel like no one and nothing can make you feel any thing different for Paul. You feel like you could take over the world. You also feel like you are so fragile, that you could break in two so easily. You feel like if you put yourself out there that you will get hurt. Love isn't easy. You know that. It takes works and it doesn't mean that you'll never get hurt. Paul will hurt you, just like the way you hurt him today. That's the way things are. You can't have so much happiness without a little bit of pain. _

I blinked away the tears. She was right.

_Of course I am. I'm you. I know how you're feeling. I know that you love Paul. Work up the damn nerve and tell him! _

I can't. Not yet.

_Sooner is always better than later. _

I just need time.

_Don't take too much time. _

I flipped onto my side and curled into a ball. My mind was so exhausted from all the emotional and mental strain. I only meant to close my eyes for a moment but I soon found myself drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

**AN: Ohmigosh! Hi everyone. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to get it out before it had been two months since my last update. I just sat down and typed this out. It's just short of 5000 words. So what did y'all think? LET ME KNOW! Your reviews let me know if I'm sucking or not. **

**Thanks for reviewing:**_guardgirl414,__SilverGoldsun – .Day.,__stepintothemoonlight16,__93,__pearberry14,__brunette-in-black,__.wolves,__dancingwiththecullens18,__snoopy-x,__writer'sblock7777,__Andre Wolf Girl,__starlight5577,__WL Chastain_

**Keep em coming guys, erm, girls, um, PEOPLE! I read all of your reviews!**

**PLEASE go to my website: lilymariepattin(dot)webs(dot)com. I work really hard on making it look good. There you will find the song for this chapter, a new banner for this story and the outfits that are (and some that aren't) described in this story. If you become a member you will get sneak peeks at this story. Please join and become a member!  
**

**Thanks for everything! **


	8. IMPORTANT NOTE

Dear Readers,

Hi! So, you're probably wondering when I am going to update again. All I can say is that, it will happen when I have time. I just started cosmetology school. It's a 1800 hour course and I go to school Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9 to 5:30. My only days off are on Sundays and Mondays, which I usually spend doing my notes and reading my book for school. It's harder than it seems. There is a lot of science and techniques that go into being a hairstylist. I am usually in bed by 11, so no more late night/early morning writing for me. I do have a good portion of the next chapter of _When I Look at the Stars_ written, I just have to finish it.

I hope y'all understand. I'm also going to be getting a job, so that means that even MORE of my time will be taken up. It's crazy and it will be this way until I finish school which I'm hoping will be late summer. I will try and outline the rest of both stories so it will be easier to write.

I love all of you and appericate every review that you wonderful people send me. Thank you for all the support and love!

Yours truly,

Marie Pattin


	9. Fireflies

**Chapter 8**

**Fireflies**

_You would not believe your eyes  
If ten million fireflies  
Lit up the world as I fell asleep_

_'Cause they'd fill the open air  
And leave teardrops everywhere  
You'd think me rude  
But I would just stand and stare_

_I'd like to make myself believe  
That planet Earth turns slowly  
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay  
Awake when I'm asleep  
'Cause everything is never as it seems_

_'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs  
From ten thousand lightning bugs  
As they tried to teach me how to dance_

**Fireflies- Owl City**_  
_

I wasn't really sure where I was when I opened my eyes again. What's wet and green all over? Oh, right. The forest. Couldn't my dreams at least take me somewhere fun and interesting?

I sighed and waited for whatever it was that was going to jump out and scare me.

_Cynical, even in your dreams. _I rolled my eyes, but when I refocused my eyes there was someone standing next to me. Not just anybody either- it was me. It wasn't really me, though. This person looked like she belonged in a fairytale book. Her blonde hair was slicked back into a ponytail with sliver sparkles. Her outfit was little more than sliver leaves sewn together. It was just enough to cover everything up. It was interesting...as a Halloween costume.

"What the hell are you," I asked the fairy-looking clone of me. She looked herself over.

"I'm not sure," She answered. "It's your dream, you obviously picked this out for me," I opened my mouth to retort but was cut off by a ear bleeding roar and suddenly a large, dark sliver wolf jumped out of the forest and right in front of me.

"Paul," we both said at the same time. I shot her a look and she shrugged. Paul merely looked confused,his eyes darting back and forth between fairy-clone and me.

"Cate," suddenly came from Paul's mouth. Huh? I thought they couldn't talk, yet here was Paul's voice coming out of his snout. "Cate," He said again. I felt the dream slipping away from me. "Cate," I rolled over and realized I was in my bed.

"Cate," Now Paul was whining. I reached for my blanket and pulled it over my head. It was easily pulled from my grasp and ripped off me. Holy hell, it was cold!

I let out a moan. "Give me m' blankets,"

"No," Paul retorted. "It's time to get up,"

"Give me the blankets and I will," I curled into a ball, trying to get warm.

"No dice," He teased. I opened my eyes and shot him a dirty look. Paul was sitting on the edge of my bed in cut-offs and a gray t-shirt. He had my blankets over his legs and wrapped in his arms. They must be toasty now.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, happy that the light that was coming in through my curtains was muted by the never-ending overcast.

"Alright, I'm awake," I yawned. "What time is it," I snagged my phone off my nightstand and flipped it open. I swore my eye twitched.

I slowly lifted my gaze to glare at Paul. "What. The. Fuck. It is only nine. Why did you wake me up?!" My voice started off quiet and deadly, ending loud and, well, deadly.

Paul flinched and held up his hands, surrendering. "Calm down, I was just doing what I was told,"

More eye twitching. "Who told you to wake me up, then," My hands were clenched into fists. Paul closed his mouth, his lips a thin line. "Tell me," I ordered.

He sighed. "Sue,"

"Good boy," I jumped off my bed and pounded my way across the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Sue was standing at the counter, putting something onto a plate.

"Why-" I started to yell when suddenly a plate of warm, chocolate Pop Tarts were placed in front of my face. I inhaled and was in heaven. Sue handed me the plate.

"We're going out today, that's why I had Paul wake you up. You haven't gone anywhere but school and home," She went to the stove and flipped the bacon. "Go and get ready,"

"Thanks Sue," I said in my chocolate Pop Tart heaven. I practically danced back to my room, shutting my door behind me. Paul was still sitting on my bed with a rather stunned look on his face. I started going through my closet, looking for an outfit as I munched on my Pop Tarts.

"Really," I heard Paul ask from behind me.

"What?" I asked around the food in my mouth.

"That's all it takes," I turned around to face him. He was standing in front of me now, holding up my half eaten breakfast. "A couple of chocolate food pastries and you're that happy?"

I nodded as I pulled out my outfit of choice. "Perfect," I murmured. "Okay, turn around Paul,"

"Wh-at-t?!" He stuttered out. His dark skin was a bit darker on his cheeks. Was he blushing? Oh my, he was. I stifled a giggle.

"Dude, just turn around. It will take me like a second to get into my outfit," He continued to stand there, his mouth slightly agape. Rolling my eyes, I sighed and turned him around myself. I quickly stripped off my pajamas and slipped on a bra, and my clothes.

"Done," I said as I walked around Paul and to my mirror. I confirmed that the outfit looked good together. The turquoise tank looked bright underneath the purple cardigan and the black pants created a great neutral. I decided that a kelly green purse along with red flats would make it look perfect. I grabbed those from my closet and then went to my dresser to decided on jewelry. I, of course, put on my grandmother's ring along with a teal ring with diamond flowers. My necklace was a gold leaf with a chrysophase stone along with a chrysophase ring. My father had picked both of them up when he was on business in the land down under.

I skipped off to the bathroom to do my business. I washed my hands and brushed my teeth,I went back to my room to do my make-up. I applied a tinted moisturizer along with some concealer under my eyes. I put on my eyeshadow, a pretty brown that blended into purple and then some kohl eyeliner, finishing off my eyes with mascara.

My hair was wavy so I applied some anti-frizz and left it alone. I painted my nails a dark purple color and put a quick drying top coat on.

I took a look in the mirror and decided that I was finished.

"Okay, I'm good," I announced to Paul who had gotten over his shock and was lounging on my bed, his feet hanging off the edge. He opened an eye and looked me over.

"Nice," He commented with a smile. For some reason that made me blush. I thanked him and grabbed my coat along with my purse, throwing some items into it. The entire time I had been getting ready, Paul was quiet. I think he might have been sleeping a bit, but I wanted some conversation with him.

"Um, so do you know who is all going?" That seemed like a good enough question.

Paul got off my bed, stretched and then opened my door a tad. "Sue," He explained and I chuckled. He looked thoughtful a moment. "It's a girls day, so Leah, Emily, Kim...and I think that's it. Sometimes Sue goes,"

"Oh," A whole day with Leah. Great. The slut was scamming on my brother.

Wait, bad thoughts, bad thoughts. I should try and be nicer to the person my brother loves. Ew. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Dammit. I didn't even make it two seconds.

"Don't worry," Paul had sat back down on my bed. He pulled me against him, our eyes almost level. He wrapped his arms around my waist as I placed mine around his neck. "She has to be nice to you now," He smiled his goofy Paul smile. "You're family twice over," He chuckled.

"Oh my god," His words triggered something. Leah was my third cousin. She was Lucas' third cousin. Isn't that wrong?

"What,"

"Leah is our third cousin," I groaned, letting my head fall forward, landing on Paul's shoulder. "There has to be some type of law against that,"

"Only second cousins is outlawed I believe. So Leah and Luke are in the clear. Plus, it's not like people will think twice here. Those who know of imprinting, won't question it." Paul rattled on, trying to reassure me. I lifted my head off his hot shoulder.

"It's still weird," I wrinkled my nose and Paul laughed. I smiled and took in the sight of Paul with his head thrown back and his eyes closed in happiness. It warmed my heart to see him like that. Too often, his face look years older than his sixteen years. It was nice to see the strain and worry gone.

He bought his head back up and our faces were closer than before. We both smiled as we leaned towards each other, excited for what was coming. The heat was suddenly increased. I could feel the electricity around me and the world seemed to get brighter. We were back in our bubble of heat and light and I could only imagine what it would be like once our lips actually met.

"Oh Caaaaaaaaattttttttteeeee," I heard a sing-song voice call out from downstairs, jerking me and Paul out of bubble. "Time to go,"

I groaned. "Damn them all to the darkest pits of hell," The lights flickered as I tried to push my anger and disappointment back. My eyes clenched shut as I try to dispell the emotion. Once the lights stopped flickering, my eyes fluttered open and I let out a sigh. "At least I didn't break them this time," I muttered.

Paul laughed again. "Don't worry, Princess," He winked at me and I threw a smirk at him. "I owe you two now," He stood up and took my hand. I grabbed my coat and purse and let him tow me to the foyer where Leah, Emily and Kim were waiting. I ignored their pointed stares.

"Ready to go," Emily asked. I nodded and noted that it was her voice that had called me. One word: payback.

"I'll see you later," Paul said to me with a knowing smile.

"Sure," I gave his hand a squeeze and then made my way to the door with the other girls following me. Outside there was a older four door sedan that we piled into with Emily and myself in the front with Leah and Kim in the back.

Emily turned the radio to a station that played the Top 40 and started the drive to Port Angeles.

"So Cate," Emily started. "How's school?" We drove past the welcome sign to La Push and I felt my spirits lift.

"Pretty good. Language is still kind of kicking my ass," I laughed a little. "I don't know what I would do if I didn't have Paul tutoring me," Emily gave me her half smile.

"That's good," She looked in her mirror at Leah and Kim. "What about you guys,"

"I'm going to graduate a year early," Kim's quiet voice was barely audible over the music. We all told her congratulations.

"That's amazing, Kim," Emily told her. "Okay guys, today is extra special then. We are going to celebrate Kim's brilliance!"

"Thanks girls," I turned around to smile at Kim and saw that her cheeks were darker than the rest of her face with a blush.

The rest of the drive was full of us singing along to the radio, talking about girl stuff and Leah, staying in her corner of the car, not talking. A couple of times I saw Emily glance into her mirror and open her mouth to say something to her, but stopped herself. At times her face would look conflicted and at other times it would look relieved. I could only imagine how damaged their relationship was, if they even had one anymore.

Soon enough, Emily was parking the car and we were scouring the couple of department stores that were contained in Port Angeles.

Shopping in PA was exactly what I was expecting, but I didn't let that ruin the first girl time I had had since I had moved to La Push. All of my major shopping would have to be done on the computer, just like I had been doing for the past two months.

There was a decent coffee shop that looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for a double shot of espresso in my latte.

Instead of focusing on finding clothes, which I knew I wouldn't, I made it my goal to get Leah to warm up to me. If her relationship with my brother was going to be anything like my relationship with Paul, I should expect her to be my sister-in-law one day.

_So you want to marry Paul even though you won't admit to him that you love him. Nice. _

Shut up. If I wanted your opinion I would ask for it.

_Whatever. You'll admit it soon enough. _

I rolled my eyes and continued into the next store with the girls. As I was holding open the door for them, I noticed a paper that was being blown down the sidewalk. It landed at my feet and I picked it up. The paper was pink with dirty streaks across it from people's shoes. I started reading and I could feel my heart stop and then start again, pounding rapidly.

"No way," I whispered. I rushed into the store and caught up with Emily. I held the paper out to her and she scanned it.

"I can't believe I forgot about this," Emily said, staring at the paper.

"What do you know about it?" I asked her. I had found my hope. The paper was advertising a dance school in Forks called Michelle's School of Dance. I couldn't believe I just let myself assume that there wasn't a dance school in that small town. I had wasted two months of valuable time.

Emily looked through the clothes as she talked. "It's been around for awhile I guess. They put on a couple of musicals a year,"

"I have to go there," I studied the paper again. My heart was soaring. I would get the chance to dance in a class again. Nothing could ruin the wonderful mood that had befallen me. I was so happy the rest of the day, even the sappy romantic movie they picked to see after dinner at an Italian restaurant, couldn't bring me down.

When they dropped Leah and I back off at the red house, I was hoping Paul was there so I could tell him the good news. He wasn't though and neither was my brother, so I was left to my own devices. I went straight to my room, after grabbing some cookies, to research the dance school. I couldn't find much, but I did get the address and phone number. Calling would be the first thing I would do tomorrow.

I saved the number to my contacts under "Dance School", right below it was my dad. I sighed. I promised Lucas I would call and it had been two months since I had left New York. I wasn't really angry anymore. I should talk to my dad, I just didn't want to cry. I was in such a good mood.

_Talking to him would put you in a better mood. _

I hit the green call button and listened as it rang. After two rings I heard my dad's voice answer.

"Cate," His voice was hopeful.

I swallowed back my tears. "Hi Daddy. How are you,"

"I'm good sweetheart," I could hear his relief. "What about you? Sue had been calling me, letting me know how you were doing in school, but how are you really doing,"

"At first, I was miserable," I got up from my desk and went and sat on my bed. "I hated every moment I was stuck in this rainy hell hole,"

"Language Catherine,"

I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, I made some friends and it got a little bit better. I just found out today that there is a dance school in Forks, so that just makes me super happy,"

"That's wonderful. I'm happy for you. I'm sorry that you had to leave so much behind here, but I'm not sorry for sending you," That was my dad- honest but kind.

"I know and I understand now why. Lucas is here and he told me about Mom," I took a deep breath to settle my anger and to stop the flickering of my bedroom light.

My dad sighed. "Don't worry about that. She's my problem. I'll deal with her,"

"Alright," There was nothing I could do about it anyways from Washington. "So how has everything been, besides the she-devil?"

My dad laughed. "Good, good. I went to Ireland two weeks ago and found you another ring,"

"Really?" I was excited. I hadn't gotten any new rings in quite some time from my dad. He had been too busy in his office to leave.

"It should be there in a few days," He told me. I laid back on my bed.

"What does it look like," I couldn't help but ask. My dad paused for a moment.

"It's a sliver band and it has a large amethyst stone in it with some celtic engraving on the sides,"

"It sounds pretty," I didn't have a ring from Ireland.

"It was really odd how I came across it. I was walking through the town since the car I had taken, had broken down and was getting repaired. Anyways, I came across this little old woman selling jewelry. She didn't have two of anything. I was going to get you one of those Claddagh rings, but the woman stopped me. She looked into my eyes and handed me the ring I ended up getting for you. She told me that the power was just on the horizon and that the leader would need the ring in order to win." He laughed and my stomach dropped for some reason. "Crazy little old lady. She wouldn't even let me pay for it but I bought the other ring too. I didn't want to just not pay her. So you're getting two rings,"

My stomach rolled but I managed to get out. "Thanks Dad. I'm sure I'll love 'em. I have to go. I went out with the girls and I'm tired,"

"Alright sweetie. Tell your brother I said hi and that I love him,"

"I will," Suddenly a thought hit me. "Hey Dad, why don't you fly out and spend the weekend with us."

"I wish I could. I got a lot of work to do here," That was he's usual excuse, but his excuse was genuine. Unfortunately for my dad, I wasn't taking no as an answer.

"You work all the time. The office will survive without you for a couple of days. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and you should spend it with Luke and me,"

"Cate-"

"Please, Daddy. Please!" I pulled the pleading voice card. Using 'Daddy' never hurt either.

He sighed. "I'll be there,"

"I can't wait to see you! Love you, Daddy!" I squealed.

"Love you too, sweetie," I hung up my phone and fell back onto my bed. This day just kept on getting better and better; first, I found a dance school and then I made up with my dad. I finally noticed the lights in my room getting brighter.

"Oh no," I groaned as I tried to control my emotions. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, chanting the mantra I had come up with, "You're calm. You're at peace," I felt something swell up inside me. I couldn't described the feeling but it was almost as good as the feeling I got before I almost kiss Paul. I opened my eyes, holding on to the feeling. I looked at the lamp that was on my desk. I let the feeling swell towards it; the light was intensified and brighter. I pulled the feeling back towards me and the light dimmed.

"Holy shit," I whispered. I tried it again, this time sending the feeling towards my bedroom light. Once again the light got brighter and as I took it away it dimmed.

I could feel my breathing get heavier, my palms get cold and clammy, my heart pounding out of my chest.

No. No. What I was doing wasn't humanly possible. I couldn't do things like that. I didn't have that type of control. That's the kind of stuff that books are made of. My life was definitely not a book. More like a soap opera than anything else.

I tried to even out my breathing, trying being the operative word. I couldn't breath; I needed oxygen but I was struggling. I could see the edges of my world starting to turn black.

I had to hold on, but I had nothing to hold on to. I felt myself starting to slip, slip far away. I could feel myself sway and then I was on the cold, wood floor. How did I get there? Where was I?

Everything felt fuzzy, dim, and I couldn't hold on anymore. I let go and the world slipped away from me.

It felt like mere seconds as my world began to shake. My eyes flew open and I found myself in a forest, but it wasn't the Washington forest I knew. No, this forest was brighter, so bright it sparkled even though it was night time. Suddenly the sparkles started moving towards me. I was scared at first, but then I realized that they were just fireflies. They started a dance around me and before I knew it they were wrapping me up in a tight cocoon of light. I couldn't help but laugh. It was amazing.

I danced through the warm forest, a torch lighting up the world. It was so beautiful and wonderful; this was how a forest should be.

The forest suddenly opened up to a clearing. In the clearing there was a large tent made up of colorful fabric. The sides were all open, the fabric blowing in the breeze. As I got closer to the technicolor tent, I noticed dozens of ornate pillows made up the floor and the furniture. They ranged in all colors, from crimson to indigo. Sitting amongst the pillows, was a man- a very beautiful man. I stopped in my tracks, unsure if I should continue.

"Come, Catherine," His voice was rougher than I would have thought, coming from such a pretty face. "You need not to be afraid,"

Still unsure, I continued my trek to the tent. The fireflies pulled away from me, but stayed close, continuing their dance around the tent.

The man was even more beautiful up close. He had blond hair that shined brighter than gold with emerald-like eyes. His body was clad in earthy colored clothes; they were modern, but there was something about them that made them seem old.

"Please, sit," He gestured to a spot across from him. I sat, facing him. He kept his eyes on me with a slight smile. I coughed after several moments to break the silence.

"So, who are you," I asked. I grabbed a pillow, putting it over my lap.

His smile widened. "To the mortals I am often referred to as Oberon," My eyes flashed to his.

"You mean like from _A Midsummer Night's Dream,_"

He chuckled. "Yes,"

"He was the king of the fairies," I commented. We were currently studying the play in English, that was the only reason I knew.

"So he was, but most call me Kelan," Kelan leaned back on to his hands. "I bet you're wondering what you're doing here,"

He hit the nail on the head. "No, I'm use to waking up in strange forests, sitting in tents with strange men. Pfft," I let out a quick burst of air, waving my hand in front of me. "Happens all the time,"

Kelan threw his head back and laughed. "You're still as snarky as ever,"

That confused me. "Have we met before," This seemed to sober him up.

"Once," He pondered. "In another life," He looked off into the distance, his mind seeming even further away. After several minutes he looked back at me and smiled.

"So," I started. "What _am_ I doing here?"

"You tapped into your power fully. Once that happened, it set off a chain of events, you coming here, being one,"

So he knew about my power. Good. Maybe he could explain it to me.

"Why am I like this," I looked down at my small hands. "Why do I have this power," My eyes flashed up to his. I wanted him to see the anguish I had.

"You are like this because you are a faery,"

. . .

"Excuse me," I asked him. This guy must be trippin'. There was _no way_ I was a faery. They don't even exist.

He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his thighs. "You are a faery, well, half a faery since your father is a human,"

My head was spinning. "Wait, that means my mother is a faery,"

He sighed. "Yes, she is."

"Does she know," I squealed. My mom was a freaking faery and didn't even tell me? What the fuck!

"She does, but she, as of late, has fallen out of good graces with the faeries," He said, his voice tight.

"Oh," I paused. I was a faery. My mother was a faery. I had powers, my mother had powers, too. "So grandparents then, what were they,"

"Faeries, high ranking ones at that," He looked at me. "They were what you would call the prince and princess of faeries,"

"Oh em gee," I leaned back on my hands. "This is so weird,"

"And yet you are so accepting of it," He tilted his head to the side. Kelan was probably expecting me to freak out. Too bad I had experiences with mythical beings.

"Well, I know a bunch of werewolves and I know that vampires exist so, it's pretty easy to believe that faeries exist too."

Kelan looked at me in shock. "You are familiar with these creatures,"

"Yes, my brother and my boyfriend are both werewolves," I shrugged like it was no big deal. If I had been talking to someone other than the king of faeries, I might have worried that they were going to throw me in the loony bin.

"Interesting," He said slowly, thinking. His eyes flashed to mine and he smiled. "How about I teach you how to control your power and tap into your other ones,"

"I have more than one?" I questioned, a bit alarmed. I could do more than just control electricity? Great. More for me to worry about destroying.

"Most faeries only have one, if that, but you are much stronger than most," He stood up, taller than I thought he was. He held out a hand to me.

"Wait a second," I held up my hands, motioning him to stop. "Why do I have more powers? I mean, I'm only half a faery,"

He sighed and sat back down. "You are so inquisitive," He leaned back against the pillows. "You are not just a faery. You are the one who is to save us all, to protect us and then to rule the fey as their queen,"

My mouth dropped open and I'm pretty sure a fly flew in. "Me, a-a queen?" I blinked a few times and then looked at Kelan. He looked hopeful. "No. Fucking. Way." I stood up in a flash and zoomed back towards the forest. But, before I could even make it ten feet, Kelan was gripping my arm and turning me towards him.

"Let go of me," I struggled against him, beating against his chest, but he was strong. Dammit.

"No, Catherine," I stopped and looked up at him. His eyes blazed down into mine. "You are our only hope,"

"Get someone else," I hissed through gritted teeth. Kelan shook me a bit.

" There is no one else. Don't you see? Don't you understand? You are the only magical being who processes the control over all elements. Even I only have control over two, and I'm the king. You are the most powerful being in the world. No one can defeat you," His voice was loud and rang into my ears. Geez, this guy was serious...and he was starting to cut circulation off to my hands.

"Can you let go," I asked in a whisper. He released my arms and I rubbed my wrist. He had his back to turned to me and looked like he was face-palming.

"I'm sorry for treating you like so," He apologized. "I just don't want to see the people I have ruled for so long, suffer."

"What do I have to protect them from," I asked him, my hands in tight balls at my sides. He turned to face me.

"They have no name, but the people call them the Darkness. They want to take over the fey and use them for their twisted purposes. They are cruel and demented," He stopped then, his voice furious and defeated all at the same time.

I sighed. Great, just great. Could my life get anymore complicated? First, I get a boyfriend who just happens to be a giant dog. Then, my brother turns out to also be a dog and then I develop freaky powers. Finally, I have to save the faeries from a bunch of raging lunatics called the Darkness. Yeah. Life is just wonderful for me.

"I'm fifteen, I can't save an entire race from being destroyed by a bunch of crazies." Kelan just stared at me. "What?" I asked when he didn't say anything.

"If only you knew of the things you did, so long ago," He breathed, still staring at me. "You were a great ruler. The people adored you," He took a few steps towards me until he was nearly flush against me. "As did I," He raised his hand and rested it on my cheek. His eyes peered into mine and suddenly my mind was full of pictures, images, all flashing through my mind at an impossible speed.

Suddenly they stopped and I opened my eyes. Kelan was still looking at me. I felt my face flush recalling the images I had of him.

"What _was_ that," I breathed, my voice strained with disbelief.

"Your past life, the one you lived thousands of years ago. You were magnificent. Beautiful, graceful, loving, kind, all over wonderful. Everyone loved you and you loved them, so much so, that you performed the spell that would allow you to become a free spirit so that you could one day, be born again in the future. You had many discussions with me about it. I would take over as king and then when you were born again, I would teach you everything and I would show you your memories,"

"And I did it because, I wanted to make sure that I would be here when the Darkness came," I stepped away from Kelan then. Between the memories of the things we had done together and his closeness, it was too much.

I had loved this man, with every fiber of my being, I had wanted him. I had him in every way possible. It was hard to dispell the images of him pounding into me, while I moaned and writhed against him. I felt myself shudder, but not with pleasure, with disgust. I loved Paul now.

_Finally, she admits it. _

I ignored my inner. Yes. I loved Paul. He was the one I wanted. The memories were like a movie that I had watched. I knew every line, I knew the characters, but there wasn't that a connection to any of it.

"Are you, Aislin, Queen of the Fey, ready to take your rightful place at the throne and defend your people," Kelan asked in the most official tone anyone could muster.

Was I ready? Could I do this?

I turned and faced him, holding my head high. "Yes,"

Kelan smiled. "Let's get started then,"

**AN: Hi guys! So I finally updated. I'm sorry it took me so long. School is so hectic. Anyways. I hope you guys liked this. The song was a totally inspiration for the second half of the chapter. It's my new favorite song and my new theme song for myself. My friends even told me that every time they hear that song, they think of me. Lol. **

**So the most important question: WHAT DID YOU THINK?? Let me know, please. I need to know that you guys like the direction I am going in. Did you expect that little twist? I been wanting to reveal what Cate really was. I developed this plan back in the spring while I was discussing this story with my TOBF (Twilight Obsessed Best Friend). I've really been thinking about it and plotting. *Insert evil laugh***

**So as you can see now, this story is really about Cate and her powers. The wolves are really just a side note and my special group from which I sometimes need drama. Plus, Paul and Cate together just makes me squeal. Lol. **

**Show the love! Because I love you guys. Seriously. **

**REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE: lilymariepattin dot webs dot com. There's a new outfit for Cate posted!  
**


	10. Fallin' For You

**Chapter 9**

**Fallin' for You**

_I can't stop thinking about it  
I want you all around me  
And now I just can't hide it  
I think I'm fallin' for you _

**Fallin' for You- Colbie Caillat **

"Again," Kelan commanded. I was hunched over, my hands on my knees, my breathing heavy and here I thought I was in shape. Kelan had me practicing focusing my magic into concentrated balls of energy. He also had me learning how to use the other elements of fire, water, air and earth. It was fun at first, but he then had me "shaping" magic into the forms he barked out.

"Are you fucking kidding me," I asked, breathless. "We've been at this for hours. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. My dad is coming and..." I stopped to pull in more oxygen. "I don't think I can possibly do anything else," Kelan just leaned against a tree, his arms crossed. His green eyes were hard as he looked at me.

"I'm barely pushing you," He muttered. I threw my hands up, letting them fall, smacking hard at my sides.

"I just came into my power. Did you really expect me to be where I once was?" I yelled at him. Tears pricked at my eyes as my frustration hit its peak. "I _know_ how long it took for me to get powerful, its not gonna happen in a day,"

Kelan pushed himself off the tree and stomped his way over to me. I stood my ground as he stood just inches away from me, staring down at me with his angry green eyes.

"If you do not learn to control yourself, then you will never be ready to face the Darkness and defeat them," He spat at me. His face twisted into a smirk. "Don't see how you can learn control when you spend all your time with those... dogs,"

That was it. I felt my anger swell as I acted without thinking. In a blink of an eye, Kelan was being slammed into a tree by a stream of water that quickly became frozen by chilled air, locking him in an ice embrace that left him stuck to the tree.

I stood there, glaring at him, my hands raised, balancing balls of pure electricity. "Don't you ever talk about them, ever again," Suddenly a smile lit up Kelan's battered face. "What," I demanded.

"That was very good. So skilled and perfect," He struggled to breathe. "Do you think you could let me go now,"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why should I? You insulted my family," I hissed. Kelan's smile dropped as he realized how angry I really was.

"I'm really sorry, Cate," He said, gulping. I gaged him for a moment before I took the air around me and warmed it up, melting the ice that encased Kelan. Soon, he was free and soaking wet. I noticed that the fireflies were closer to me, almost hugging me in a protective cage; they wouldn't let Kelan within ten feet of me.

"I only insulted you so that you would get enraged. Your emotions are tightly bound to your powers. You're trigger seems to be anger," Kelan explained as he examined the scene before him. I stood with my arms crossed, my glare at it's highest intensity, with a wall of fireflies, guarding me.

Suddenly, Kelan's face became peaceful. "See how they swarm around you," He noted. "You'll notice that the creatures around you will do that. They recognize you are the queen and they have a built in duty to protect you," I held my arm out and watched as the fireflies landed it, glowing even brighter than before.

"Wow," I whispered and as if they sensed that my _anger_ was gone, the fireflies drifted away from me, but still staying close. How could I stay angry when I was surrounded by fireflies that were trying to protect me?

"Sorry about that," I nodded to Kelan who had taken off his shirt. Do guys really feel the need to get undressed in front of me?

_We are so lucky. _

For the love!

_For the luckiness of being surrounded by gorgeous men. _

Oh my god! Did you just sigh?

_Yes. _

Stop that! We love Paul.

_Nothing wrong with enjoying the view. _

Stop sighing!

"Uh, Cate, you alright," Kelan asked me, making me jump.

"Yup," I laughed, nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "Perfect," Kelan studied for much longer than I thought was necessary. "So," I started, breaking the silence. "How do I get back," This seemed to break him out of state of staring. Creep.

His eyes flashed up to mine. "Well until you can control your powers better, the easiest way is for you to fall asleep,"

"Oh, sorta like how I got here,"

"Exactly," He gestured for me to follow him. He led me into the colorful tent and said, "You can sleep here," There were a couple of lanterns that he lit and created a soft glow through out the tent. I quickly created a bed using the pillows. The night was warm enough, that I didn't need a blanket. I settled down, my eyes incredibly heavy. Kelan folded himself next to me as if to watch over me.

"How will I come back," I mumbled, my eyes barely open.

"You'll come in your dreams, as you did before,"

"Every night," I asked.

"Every night," He confirmed. "Good night, my queen. Sleep well," He whispered as I finally drifted off to blackness.

****************

The day was full of preparation. Sue ordered us to clean the house perfectly, including our bedrooms. Apparently Thanksgiving dinner for the pack was being held at our house since it was actually big enough to house everyone, albeit barely.

My dad had texted me at four in the morning, a text I didn't get until I woke up from my nightmarish slumber, telling me he was on his way. Lucas nearly had a heart attack when I told him the news that morning.

"You're fucking kidding me," He gasped, holding me by my shoulders. I gave him a toothy smile.

"Never under estimate the power a daughter has over her daddy," I skipped off to finish dusting. I knew from my own flight, that it should only take my dad about seven hours from the time he left New York, to get to La Push. When ten o'clock rolled around, my excitement increased tenfold.

But ten o'clock came and went, and he still wasn't here. The clock hit eleven and then twelve and I started to worry. He would call if he was running late. I couldn't help but to imagine all the things that could have happened. I even flipped on CNN, looking to see if there anything about a plane going down, or something going on at the airports.

I sat, anxiously tapping my foot, on the couch, my eyes flickering between my phone and the TV. I didn't hear the door open, or really feel the arms around me and peck on the cheek that I received.

"Cate," I could hear Paul's deep voice question, pulling me out of my concerned state. "What's wrong," The look on his face was laced with concern and worry as he stared at me.

"My dad's late and he hasn't called, and I'm just worried is all," Paul tightened his grip on me and I leaned back into him, letting his warmth envelop me. I tried not to let my mind wander as I continued to stare at my inactive phone.

"Why are you here so early? Dinner isn't until three," I asked Paul, trying to distract myself.

"Emily came over to help Sue out with the cooking and Sam is outback, helping to set up the tent," He said. A heated tent was being set up in the back yard to accommodate everyone. Paul sighed and my eyes drifted to his chest. I raked my eyes over him, taking in his very different attire. Paul was wearing a blue, button down shirt with dark jeans and actual shoes, Chuck Taylors to be exact. He looked even yummier when he was fully clothed.

Paul's dark eyes met mine as I finally bought my eyes up to his face on my way back from my exploration of his body. I knew he could see the lust in my eyes as our eyes held. We were back in our bubble of heat and light. Paul shifted towards me, but we weren't close enough for my liking. I threw my self into Paul's lap so I was straddling him. We had waited for this moment and I was going all out for it.

Paul's shocked gaze turned into a smile as I bought myself closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, my bare thighs resting against his denim-covered ones. I wanted to pat myself on the back for picking out a flowing dress, almost as if I knew I would up in Paul's lap.

Paul's hot hands rested on my hips as I drew myself closer to him, breathing in his warm scent of the woods and Axe.

My face was a mere inch from his face as I stared into Paul's eyes. "I..." I trailed off, wanting to say it, but wanting to hide it from him all at the same time. "I'm falling for you,"

"I know," He whispered and bought his lips to mine, barely grazing them.

"Cate!" Completely surprised by the sound of my name being called, I jumped and fell backwards off Paul and on to the hard floor, landing with a 'Oof'. My eyes opened to see my father, standing over me, his face frozen in shock and anger.

"Hi Daddy," I said from my place on the floor with a wave. I stood up, brushing myself off, and looked over at Paul. The poor boy looked scared and concerned as I gave my dad a hug. My dad, who seemed to get over his shock, picked me up and spun me around, making me giggle like I was five again. My dad was not a small man, standing at over six foot three. His voice was deep like a lake, but not so deep that it scared you. He had big muscles to match his big heart.

"How's my favorite daughter," My dad chuckled as he set me down, running a hand over my smooth hair.

A raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm your only daughter," To which my father bellowed out a laugh.

"All the more reason for you to be my favorite," He smiled. "Now where is your brother," On cue, Lucas bounded into the living room, wrapping his arms around Dad. Dad pulled away to look Lucas over.

"Hitting the gym," He raised an eyebrow at my brother who laughed.

"Nah, the ramen is finally paying off," He snickered. My dad's eyes darted over Lucas' shoulder to look at Paul. Paul stood up and walked over to my dad, holding out his hand.

"I'm Paul Walker," He introduced himself as him and my dad shook hands.

"Tim Rostov," My father uttered as he looked over Paul. I danced my way to Paul's side, taking his now free hand, into mine.

"Paul's my boyfriend," I said with a toothy smile directed at my father. Lucas, who was standing behind my dad now, dragged his pointer finger across his neck and then skipped out of the room, mumbling something about setting up the tent.

"Really now," My dad mumbled. "So, Paul, how old are you,"

"I'll be sixteen next week,"

"How long have you been dating my daughter,"

"Well, there isn't an official date, but for almost a month now,"

"Are you in school,"

"Of course,"

"Who are your parents," My dad asked and I winced, knowing it was a sore subject for Paul. Paul swallowed uneasily, but looked my dad in the eye as he answered.

"My dad skipped out a long time ago and my mom passed away. I use to live with my aunt, but I moved out and in with Sam Uley and his girlfriend, Emily," I squeezed Paul's hand, then started rubbing circles on the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry to hear that," My dad said to Paul. I could tell that Paul was gaining my Dad's respect by being honest with him. I thought things were starting to go well as Paul and my dad fell into a conversation about God's know what. I was really paying attention, I was just happy my dad hadn't asked even more embarrassing questions. That was when the unthinkable happened.

"What are you intentions with my daughter," My dad asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Dad-" I started but was cut off by Paul.

"It's alright, Cate," He smiled down at me, reassuring me that he got it. He looked back at my dad. "I care very deeply for Cate, sir. She's a wonderful person and is my best friend. I'm going to try my best not to hurt her and to always protect her." I could feel the tears in my eyes as Paul spoke. Ignoring my dad, I stood on my tip toes and kissed Paul on his lower cheek, the highest I could reach. His eyes shined down at me as he held my hand tighter. We both turned to look at my dad.

"What about what I saw when I walked in," He questioned. I decided to take this one.

"Daddy, what you saw was our first kiss, spank you very much," I rolled my eyes. "And it was barely even a freakin' kiss," I pouted. "Stupid people always interrupting," I muttered, glaring at the ground. Then my dad surprised me.

He started laughing.

Full out, bellowing laughs. "Oh god, Cate," My dad chuckled. "Your face is so expressive, just like your grandmother's," My eyes flashed up to his and I smiled. It was always a good day when I got compared to my Grandma Lucy. I wrapped my free arm around my dad.

"Thanks Daddy," I let go of him and returned to Paul's side. I shot my dad a questioning look.

"Paul, you seem like an okay kid," He concluded to both Paul and my relief. "Break her heart and I'll break your arms,"He added. I bit my lip in an effort not to laugh as Paul gulped. Paul, who was a werewolf, was scared of my dad. Oh, how rich.

A smile was plastered to my face now that my dad had met Paul and approved of him. I pulled in my emotions as I noticed the living room lights and electronic start to glow brighter.

It was then that Sue finally made her entrance. "Oh, Timothy, I didn't even know you were here," She pulled him into a hug. "Welcome. Make your self at home. Harry will be happy to see you," She smiled at him.

"Thanks Aunt Sue," He smiled at her. "How's everything," Sue pulled my dad away and towards the back of the house where everyone else was at. Paul and I let out heavy sighs at the same time. We laughed at each other.

"I'm sorry about that," I told him as he wrapped his arms around my waist. He smiled down at me.

"Don't worry about it. It comes with the package," He pressed a kiss to my forehead. I gave him a look and his smiled widen, knowing what I wanted. He leaned down to press his lips to mine when, suddenly the door burst open and in filed the rest of the pack, loud and rambunctious as ever. Included in this group was Embry, Quil and Jacob along with their respective families.

Let the festivities begin.

**AN: Hello loves. How are you? Good, I hope. It's a new year so I thought I'd update. I've decided to start doing shorter chapters. Shorter chapters will equal quicker updates, but it's up to you guys. Would you rather have longer chapters, but a longer stint in between updates or shorter chapters but quicker updates? **

**So I have finally figured out who is Cate's dad. Ready for it? It's Vin Diesel! He just fits and then his voice intruded into my mind and his voice just fits with Cate's dad, plus he looks the part. **

**Go to the website and show some love: lilymariepattin(dot)webs(dot)com **

**So I hope everyone enjoyed this! Until next time, my loves!  
**


	11. Waiting

**Chapter 10  
Waiting  
**

_And I can't hold on.  
This light is breaking into the day  
This life is going to change seems like it's taking me forever  
_**Waiting- The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus **

This was way worse than I thought it was going to be. After the arrival of the rest of the guests, which included the police chief and his daughter Bella, the red house turned into something worse than a comedy movie. Comedies are funny...when they don't involve you.

The younger boys, along with my brother and Paul, were currently engaged in a Rock Band competition. Sue was trying to find a way to make the turkey less dry. Really, it's a turkey. It's impossible for it not to be dry. There were not enough regular plates for everyone, so Emily was trying to decided if she should just have everyone use paper plates or just make up the difference of regular plates with paper ones. Someone had bought up politics and the older men, including my dad, were "loudly discussing" the current president.

Plus, Bella was sitting in the only chair in the living room, her legs pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. She looked little more than a zombie, her skin paler than pale and dark circles that rimmed her eyes. She looked like she could be pretty, but it was hard to see past the large sweatshirt and lifeless eyes. I had introduced myself, but she only muttered her name in a soft whisper before brushing past me and settling in the chair. I didn't take it personal since she did it to everyone that was there. I could only imagine what had happened to her to make her like that.

I wanted to go and hide in my room, but every time I made a break for it, someone saw me and made me stay.

"Come on, Cate!" Lucas yelled. He had been asking me to join his "band" ever since the game had started and I had planted myself on the couch with Leah and Kim. "I know you are a great singer. I've heard you plenty of times in the shower!"

"Shut up, Luke," I muttered murderously. "I don't 'do' singing, and you know that,"

"But Catie," he whined. "We need a better singer,"

"Hey!" Quil protested as he was their current lead singer.

"Cate," Paul's deep voice caught my attention. He was guitar for my brother's 'band'. "Just one song," He cocked his head to the side and smiled. "Please, for me," My heart skipped a beat.

Stupid heart.

"Fine,"

Stupid Paul.

I stood up and took the mic from Quil who joined the other band to be the bassist.

"I pick the song and you guys go first," I told the other band who consisted of Jake on drums, Embry on guitar, Quil on bass, and Seth on vocals. Seth wasn't too bad of a singer, kind of a roughed up pop star, but I'm sure once his voice got lower he would sound more like a rock singer. They nodded as I scrolled through the songs and picked out the one knew best. Seth groaned but I merely smiled.

The song started and Seth struggled through it, but still managed to score decently. Jake rocked out on the drums as did Embry.

Now it was my bands turn. Lucas was on guitar, Paul on bass, Jared on drums and me as vocals.

The strong bass line started and I started singing.

"_I will break into your thoughts with what's written on my heart. I will break! Break!_"

"Shit," I heard Seth mutter as I continued singing.

"_I'm so sick, infected with where I live._"

"She sounds just like the chick who sings this song," Kim said to Leah, who disagreed, of course.

"_I'm so sick._" The song ended then. We waited the few seconds it took for the scores to come up and my band cheered as we saw that we were the winners.

"Kids!" Sue yelled as she poked her head into the living room. We all turned to look at her. "Dinner," Everyone rushed out of the room, everyone being the boys, and out to the heated tent where dinner was being held. Paul grabbed my hand and we walked out together to the tent.

"You have a great voice," He said as we took our seats next to each other.

"Thanks," I managed to blush and everything was quiet while Old Quil said grace from the head of the table. The minute he said "Amen", hands were flying to the dishes and Paul was no exception. He had his plate loaded with food before I could even reach for a dinner roll. Soon enough, everyone had their food and dim conversation was going up around the table, politics forgotten, thank god.

I picked at my food, though. A funny feeling had taken over my stomach, making any food I ate settle uneasily. Maybe it was the fact that I crammed at a table inside a small tent. Or maybe it was the fact that I was sitting next to Bella Swan, who also only picked at her food, not eating, not meeting anyone's gaze and certainly not talking to anyone.

I suddenly felt a nudge at my side and turned to look at Paul who eyed me as he took a bite of a roll.

"What's wrong," He asked with his mouth full.

"Manners Paul," I smirked at him as he swallowed and stuck his tongue out at me. I nearly came apart at the sight. "Nice,"

"Stop evading and tell me what's up,"

I sighed. "Stomach ache,"

"Sorry, Princess," He squeezed my thigh and went back to eating. I tried to eat a little more but gave up after a few bites. I decided to try and talk to Bella.

"So Bella," She barely turned her head to acknowledge that she had heard me.

_This girl is kinda creepy._

Shush.

"How old are you," I asked her. She looked like she was older than me, but still in high school, maybe a junior or senior.

She winced before she answered. "Eighteen,"

"Nice. You're legal. I'm only fifteen. Have you always lived in Forks?" I tried my best to ignore her dead and monotone voice.

"No,"

"Me either. I lived in Manhattan," I swallowed the uneasiness and tried to continue my one-sided conversation with her. "How do you know the Blacks? That's who you came with, right"

"My dad's friends with Billy," She muttered, wincing again for some reason. Okay, was this girl in pain or something, talking to me?

"Oh, I see," I decided to end the conversation there.

_Geez, did someone die?_

That made me wonder what had happened to Bella to make her so...dead. Maybe she did lose someone and was having trouble getting over it. That's all that I could really think of that could have effected her so much to make her so lifeless.

Suddenly, Bella stood up and bolted back into the house. Her father followed after her after thanking Sue and Harry for inviting them.

_That was strange._

"Paul," He turned to look at me. "What's up with that Bella chick," I asked him in a hushed voice. He didn't look at me as he answered.

"I'll tell you later," Was all he could say as he busied himself with his food. Soon enough dinner was over and the men took over the living room, settling in for the football game. I helped by dishing the food into containers for everyone to take home. After I finished with that I found my dad and sat at his feet while the game played. During the commercials we would talk. I asked about my aunts, uncles and cousins and heard that they were all fine. My cousin Mark had gotten an early acceptance to NYU and my aunt Suzie was pregnant. That surprised me.

"I didn't know she had a boyfriend,"

"She doesn't," My dad replied as the game came back on. Right.

By the time the second quarter started I was bored out of my mind. My eyes flashed over to Paul who was talking to Sam and Lucas. He met my eyes and I looked up, hoping he would get what I was trying to say. He nodded slightly and I took that as my que. I stood up, telling my dad that I was tired. He smiled and told me to go lay down. I made my way to my room. I pulled off my shoes and changed out of my dress. I quickly changed into a pair of knee length sweatpants and a loose t-shirts, pulling on a pair of knee socks. Just as I finished Paul came into my room, shutting the door behind him. He was next to me in two long strides and had me wrapped in his arms. I buried my face into his neck and inhaled his scent.

"Today was exhausting," I sighed. Suddenly, my feet were off the ground and I was on lying on my bed with Paul next to me. We laughed together and then I snuggled closer to him. After a couple of quiet moments I asked, "Is it later,"

Paul sighed. "Yeah. It's later," I pulled back a later to look at him. His eyes were hard, his mouth set. "Bella Swan is like that because her boyfriend broke up with her," To say that I was shocked by his words was an understatement.

"What?"

"Yeah, him and his...family," He spit out the words. "Up and left. Good riddance to the bloodsuckers,"

"What?!" I nearly shrieked as I pulled back from Paul. "You don't mean-" My words were muffled as Paul put his hand over my mouth.

"Do you want someone to hear you," He asked me in a rushed whisper. He removed his hand and continued. "Yes, they were...vampires,"

"No way,"

"Yeah. Bella was all googoo gaga for them and when they left, well, it was like she left too."

"Wow," I breathed. "She must of really loved him,"

"What are you talking about," Paul demanded.

"Bella must of really loved this vampire for her to be like that. I mean, she looks like someone didn't leave, but that someone died." I suddenly felt a huge rush of sympathy for Bella Swan. I just wanted to hug her and tell it that it would all be okay, although things would probably never be okay for her.

"Bella is better off now that the leeches are out of her life. She isn't in danger anymore," Paul's tone was so sure.

"How can she be better off when she looks like she wants to die? Think about it Paul," I pulled him closer to me. "Imagine if I left to never see you again, even if you were better off without me, how would you feel,"

Paul's jaw clenched and I felt his hands turn into fists. I was about to open my mouth to say something else but Paul's lips were suddenly on mine. I let out a surprised whimper, but pressed myself against him, letting my lips move with his. Our bubble of heat and light wasn't just a bubble anymore. It had exploded and turned up a thousand notches.

Then, when I felt his tongue against my lips, I let him. The heat, the fire was spreading. It encompassed the whole house and the surrounding forest. Paul's hand landed on my hip and he ran his fingers across the bare skin there. The entire forest was ablaze now.

I felt the heat build up inside of me, begging to be released. Paul had already gotten rid of his button up shirt, leaving him in only a thin, white t-shirt. I let my hands sneak underneath it, running my hands up his back. Paul ripped his lips away from mine, letting us both breathe. I opened my eyes only to see darkness. I could have sworn the lights on.

_What do you think happened, you stupid faery?_

"Oh shit," I left my head fall against Paul. "I think I blew up the house again,"

Paul snickered. "Let's go check it out then," He stood up and then helped me up. I tried my light switch and groaned when no light came on. We made our way down the dark stairs only to find everyone getting their things together to leave.

"What happened," Paul asked Jared.

He shrugged. "Don't know. One minute everyone was just watching the game and then next the TV and all the lights just blew out," He shook his head. "They were just about to tie up the game,"

Paul and I shared a look. Yup. This was, for sure, my fault. Again.

I buried my face in Paul's shoulder. I felt his lips next to my ear. "I'm that good of a kisser, am i," He chuckled while I groaned.

"I hate you," I pouted.

"No you don't," He laughed quietly.

"Shut up," I really need to stop blowing things up.

**AN: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't know. I felt weird while I was writing it. This whole chapter just feels weird.  
**

**Let me know if you find any grammar errors or typos. I didn't look this chapter over, so let me know!**

**Remember to check out the website: lilymariepattin . webs . com**

**THANK YOU! for all reviews! I appreciate them so much. I love you guys!  
**


	12. Over My Head

**Chapter 11**

**Over My Head**

_I wish you were a stranger I could disengage  
To say that we agree and then never change  
Soften a bit until we all just get along _

_**Over My Head (Cable Car)- A Day To Remember **_

After everyone had left, Luke made a quick run to the store to buy light bulbs. The night had consisted of cleaning and replacing the lights in the entire house. Even the lights that hadn't been on, had exploded. I cringed at this and was almost eager to get back to Kelan. I really needed to get my powers under control.

I tried my best not to think about Kelan and our...past together as I sat on the couch, smashed between my brother and my dad.

"So I was thinking we should do something together tomorrow," My dad suggested, his eyes on me and Lucas.

"Like what," Lucas was currently shoving Doritos down his throat.

My dad shrugged. "It's up to you guys,"

"There's a bowling alley in Forks," Sue piped up from the kitchen.

The three of us looked at each other. "Bowling?" I mouthed to them.

"It could be fun," My dad looked at both Lucas and I. I turned and studied my brother.

"Alright," We said at the same time, and then laughed.

"I swear, you guys act like you've never been bowling," Sue came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. That made the three of us crack up, leaving Sue confused.

Dad was the first to sober up. "We haven't," An incredulous look crossed Sue's face.

"Really," She asked and we nodded. "Oh, well maybe you should bring a couple of people with you, then," Sue's voice was dripping with hints.

"Well, why doesn't your family join us," My dad suggested and I swear I wanted to slam my face into a wall. I would have to be confronted with my brother and Leah being all coupley.

"Can I bring Paul," I asked my dad. He eyed me a bit and then nodded. I fist pumped and hissed a "Yes,"

"Alright Catie, why don't you head up to bed," Dad told me. He hasn't told me when to go to bed since I was twelve, but I wasn't about to argue with him. I was tired and eager to talk to Kelan and work on my control.

"Sure sure, Daddy," I kissed his cheek and then Lucas'. "Night guys, love you," I took the stairs two at a time, rushing through washing my face and brushing my teeth. I went to my room and closed the door. The comforter was all askew, which made me blush and smile. I turned my iPod on and put on my classical music playlist.

As I buried myself in my blankets, I could feel the effects of the day crash down on me. The music drifting through my room, hummed me into slumber.

The world seemed to shake for a few moments before I opened my eyes and found myself inside the same colorful tent as before. I was still laying down, it was as if my body had never left and that I merely been asleep and dreaming.

"Good morning, Cate," I heard the familiar male voice above me. I sat up and looked at Kelan. He was dressed in different clothes, but otherwise it looked as if he hadn't moved from his spot.

"Hi," I greeted him, running a hand through my hair.

"How was your holiday," He asked me.

"Good. My dad was there," I pondered on the day. "It was actually really hectic, but in a good way. I kinda, blew all the lights out in the house," I sighed. "Again,"

He chuckled. "May I ask what you were doing when that happened," I felt my face heat up. I so did not want to tell Kelan that I had been making out with Paul.

"Um, well," I gulped and looked away from him. "I was with Paul,"

"You're boyfriend," He confirmed and I nodded. "I see," I let my eyes drift to Kelan. He looked crestfallen, angry and jealous all at the same time.

I ignored this. "Well, let's get started. I'm really getting tired of blowing up my relatives' house,"

After what felt like several hours, I was slightly sweaty as Kelan described to me the flow of energy that ran through every living and nonliving being.

"Every thing has it's own energy. There is a constant flow and we fey are very sensitive to it. We can sense this energy and can mold and shape it as we please. But even though we can sense all types of energy, most fey can only control one type of energy, one type of element. So can you tell me the elements," he quizzed.

"Um, electricity, water, earth, wind, fire...I think that's it,"

"Yes, some only think of the four elementals, but electricity is very much apart of nature," He nodded at me. The sky had darkened and the fireflies had returned where they hummed around me, bringing me a sense of warmth, a warmth that reminded me of Paul.

"Cate," Kelan's voice was annoyed.

"What," I asked, breaking myself away from my thoughts.

"You need to pay attention. This is very important," He crossed his arms. Oh, no. He did not just talk down to me.

I was up in a flash and standing in front of him. "Don't talk to me as if I am a child. I understand that is important, but this isn't the only important thing in my life. I'm trying my hardest to get ready for the dark forces. But don't you get it. I haven't been your queen in for over a thousand years! All I have are the memories you have given me. Speaking of me being your queen, who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that anyways! Don't think that you can just stop respecting me because I'm a different person. I am still your queen," I huffed in anger. Really, he was going to act like that. I could feel the air whip around me violently as my anger maintained itself.

"I don't need this," I whispered, letting the wind carry my voice to Kelan who just stood there, his face impassive. "I'm just a kid and I understand that...that I suppose to take over, but I'm not sure I even want to. The memories...well they're just that, memories. I still feel a connection to the people, but I'm not sure if I even want to be queen anymore. I...I love the life I have now. I love my family, Paul, the pack, my friends. I don't think I can give them up. I will help you and defeat the Darkness but I don't want that life," I couldn't help but tell him the truth. I did feel a connection to my past life, but the connection to my current life was stronger than that one.

_I understand how you feel. _

So, thats why I have this inner voice. You're the voice of my past life.

_In a way, yes. But I'm just you. _

I don't know what to do. I feel so lost, so confused. How could things be so different? I, you loved Kelan so much, as much as I love Paul.

_Yes, I loved Kelan. Notice, we do care for him. But we have Paul now. He is the one for you, me._

Why did you act all...well stupid, before?

She laughed._ Because, I couldn't tell you that I am the voice of your past life as queen of the fey. I figured I would be...more of a friend. A voice of reason in your times of need. _

Well, I need you to help me decided. How can I give up one life for another?

_I can't tell you want to do. That is all up to you. If you choose to not leave your current life, then I will continue to live on with you. Once you die, my spirit will die too. For we are the same. You are me, reborn._

Why me? Why were you born into me?

_I had no control over it. I simply waited. The natural flow of the energies lead my spirit to you. _

I'm scared.

_I know you are. I am technically you. I may occupy a certain part of your brain, but I am still you. Believe it or not, your personality is just like mine. _

Then how is it, that you seem more mature?

_Catie, _She laughed again. _I am thousands of years old. I've had more than enough time to grow up and learn maturity. _

Oh, well thats interesting...Hey whenever I'm with my family or...Paul, where are you?

_Like I said, I am you. It may seem hard to understand since I am talking to you like I am another person, but really I'm not. I'm simply like an...over active consciousness. We are one in the same,there are no two separate people. I am you, you are me. _

That's weird. So I am talking to myself, basically?

_ Yes. _

Interesting.

_Indeed. Kelan's been trying to get our attention for awhile. _

I felt my eyes open and I saw a too close, overly concerned Kelan holding onto my shoulders, shaking me a bit.

"Are you alright,"

"Fine, Kelan," I sighed. "I was just...thinking,"

A look grazed his face. "Were you talking to her,"

"She is me, I am her," I answered him. He let go of me and stomped away from me, angry.

"How can that be!" He shouted. "How can you be her and yet be so different?"

"Believe it or not, I act just like her, her thoughts are my thoughts. The Aislin you knew was much more mature than I am. I had years to develop that. I was also from a different time. This time that I was born in has effected me and yes, it has changed me in many ways, but I am still Aislin. I have a different life now, one so different from the one I lived a thousand years ago. I have changed. People change, simple as that. Do you expect me to believe that you haven't changed in all this time, Kelan? I noticed the differences you. You are more mature, yourself. You are a bit angrier than before. You carry yourself a little differently, no doubt the effect of being king," I said, sitting back on the ground, leaning back onto my hands. He stopped his incessant pacing and sat down across from me.

"So you are her," He paused. "Why is it your feelings have changed for me?"

"I've fallen in love with another. I am bonded to him in a way that can not be undone. The werewolves are interesting. They have this bonding called, imprinting. Paul was made for me. He is my other half. It's almost impossible to describe with words," I sighed, thinking of Paul. "He completely rocks my world,"

"What...what about me," Kelan asked. "What about your feelings for me,"

"I still care for you, but as far as the relationship we had before, that is over," I told him. It would only hurt him to let him hang and linger on the a useless hope. I didn't want him to hurt like that.

His face fell. "I understand, I guess," He sighed and looked up. "It is time for you to go back, but we made good progress today. How do you feel about your control,"

"Better. I still think it could be better, but I think I can stop blowing lights," I half smiled. Kelan let a smile grace his face, but it was a bit forced.

"Oh there is something I need to give you," He said, reaching into his shirt pocket. He pulled out three bracelets.

"What are those,"

"These are special stones that you wore all the time. Stones, just like plants or animals have special energies. This one," He held up the first bracelet. "is blue lace agate. It helps promote peacefulness, positivity and neutralize anger." He clicked the bracelet around my left wrist. The blue and white marbled stone was a smooth sphere, connected by twisted pieces of metal to form the bracelet. "This one is autumn jasper. It protects against negative energy," This stone was all colors of red, orange and green. The colors where so similar to autumn it wasn't hard to see where it had gotten it's name from. "Finally, this is onyx," He clicked the bracelet of deep black stone around my wrist. "This is a protection stone. It will deflect the negative energy of others, keep you safe from harm, aid you in making decisions and it will help you overcome any feelings of loneliness you may have,"

All the bracelets were made different, but they fit on my left wrist perfectly. They weren't too loose or too snug.

"Thanks, Kelan," I smiled at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," He nodded to me and I stood up.

"See ya later," I threw a wave over my shoulder as I made my way to the tent and my make-shift bed. I settled into my bed, turning the lamps all the way down and silently calling for the fireflies. Soon they were hovering over me, creating a peaceful glow. I let my eyes close and felt myself fall back into nothingness.

After what seemed to be maybe an hour, I woke up in my bed at the Clearwaters. It felt so weird that I would sleep only to wake up again. I felt like I hadn't been getting any sleep and while my body was rested, my mind was always on, never really turning off.

I slid out of bed and grabbed my towel, heading for a quick shower. I saw Seth coming out of his room with his towel. We narrowed our eyes at each other and raced for the bathroom. Needless to say, I lost and had to wait while Seth showered.

I tried to take off the bracelets so they didn't get wet, but they wouldn't come off. The clasps to them were gone, as if they had been welded on to me.

Once I was showered and back in my room, I started pulling clothes from my latest online shopping venture. I had already tried them all on and sent back the ones I didn't like, so I was left with clothes that I absolutely loved and looked good in.

I pulled out my newest pair of skinny pants, made of a stretchy velvet. They weren't the easiest things to get into, but I got them on and confirmed that they still looked good on me.

Next came a black tank top, from the same designer of the pants. I decided that a creamy beige blazer would finish off the look and pulled it out of my closet, setting it on my bed. Just as I finished my make-up, there was a knock at my door. Before I could say anything, the door was opening and my dad was poking his head in.

"Morning Dad," I smiled at him. He came into my room, a plastic bag in his hand. "What do you got there,"

He dropped the bag into my lap. "Your presents," I eagerly torn through the bag, pulling out two ring boxes. I opened the first and was greeted by the gold Claddagh ring. I slipped it on to my thumb and was happy that it fit nicely. I opened the next box and felt the air leave me as I stared at the ring. The purple stone gleamed up at me as the rush of memories flooded through my head.

I automatically put the on my left ring finger, knowing it belonged there.

"So what do you think," My dad cleared his throat after I was silent for awhile.

"I love 'em," I stood up and hugged my dad, thanking him.

Dad stepped back. "Hey, whenever you're done getting ready, I want you to meet me downstairs. I want to have a little chat with you,"

I groaned, but I had been expecting this. With all the changes that had happened since I had moved to La Push, my dad was bound to be interested, especially since I had a boyfriend now.

"Don't worry, I already got to your brother," He told me with an amused smirk.

"And you didn't let me listen in! What the crap, Dad!" I laughed. I pulled on my blazer and then pulled my hair into a ponytail. I slipped in my earrings, put on my rings and put a bracelet onto my right wrist. "Done,"

"Do you plan on going barefoot, Catie," My dad raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes. I reached into my closet, already knowing which box I wanted. I slipped into the beige and black heels.

"There, now let's go," I said, holding the door open for my dad. I closed the door behind me and followed my dad down the stairs.

After throwing on my coat and grabbing an umbrella, my dad and I started our walk.

"So how's everything here, no lies," My dad started off.

"Like I said before, I was miserable here at first. Then I met Paul and he made things better," I sighed, putting my free hand into my coat pocket. "I'm going to call that dance school in Forks on Monday and check them out. So things won't be horrible, at all,"

"Anything else you wanna tell me," I looked up to meet my Dad's dark eyes. He knew something. And he was testing me, seeing if I would tell him.

I narrowed my eyes. "You talked to Luke, I'm sure you know,"

"How about we say the word at the same time, and then we'll both know what the other knows," He suggested. This was a game we use to play when I was little.

"Fine. On three. One, two, three,"

"Werewolves,"

"Werewolves," Aha! I was right. He did know. "Luke told you, I'm guessing,"

Dad nodded. "He did. Apparently he had to ask Sam first,"

"Yeah, Sam's the pack leader,"

"Why don't you tell me about this, imprinting. I've heard from...a imprinter, I wanna hear about it from the imprintee,"

I sighed. This was one talk I did not want to have with my dad. "I'm pretty sure it's the same for me as it for Lukey. I love Paul, he loves me. He's my soul mate, my other half, my true love. I could go on and on about it, but its as simple as that. We love each other,"

"Catie, you must realize how hard this is for me. I thought I was sending you some where safe and more normal than what's going on back in New York at the moment,"

"I am safe," I stressed. "I got a pack of wolves watching my back,"

He sighed. "Cate, that's just it. _Werewolves_. Your brother told me a bit about it. They can't control themselves," I cut him off.

"You do realize you are talking about your own son, right?"

"I think you should come back to New York with me," His voice held a note of finality. That meant it wasn't really an option to me.

"Are you crazy!?" I yelled. We had stopped walking as I twisted to face him.

"Cate, you could back to your school. You could dance again," He knew my weakness. It wasn't fair that he was playing on it.

"Well, there is more to my life now than just dance. And you only have yourself to blame for that. If you hadn't sent me here in the first place, none of this would have happened," I took several deep breaths, reining in my energy, keeping it in a ball inside of me.

"Catherine, you do well to think about the life you have here and the life you left behind in New York. Do you really want to stay _here_? This place will take you no where,"

"You know what, Dad," I gulped. "All I had in New York was my dancing. Here, I have a family. They annoy the hell out of me, sure, but they care about me. They are always there for me when I need someone. They don't let me bury myself in my misery and my dancing. Dancing was so important to me because it was all I had. Well, I have more than I ever had in New York," I could feel the burning in my nose that warned me of tears, but I kept them in. I took another deep breath. The words were true. Pictures of Paul, Lucas, Emily, the Clearwaters, and the rest of the pack flashed through my mind. I had a family that I never knew I had wanted or needed.

"So you don't even care about your dancing career anymore, is that it?" He challenged me.

"No, there are just more important things to care about now. See, that is your problem. You saw your career as the only important thing in your life. There is more to life than work. Maybe if you and Mom had put your kids before your stupid careers, maybe we wouldn't be here. Maybe if you had paid a bit more attention to your family, your wife wouldn't have cheated on you-" My sentence was punctuated with a slapping sound and then me falling to the muddy road with a stinging and burning sensation across the left side of my face.

I swung my head to glare up at my Dad, tears running down my face.

"Catie," He whispered and reached for me.

"No! Don't touch me," I yelled as I got up. I knew that Emily's house was only a minute away and so I started running there and away from my father, who called after me.

I tried to hold it together as I reached the small blue house, my head pounding. I quickly made my way up the path and knocked on the door, trying to wipe away some of the blood from my lip and tears off my cheeks.

The door swung open and there stood Sam. He took one look at me and pulled me inside the house, slamming the door shut.

"Jesus Christ, Cate," He said as he used his hand to lift my chin up to get a better look at my lip. "Em!" He yelled and Emily came bustling around the corner. "Who hit you," Sam asked me, his voice too calm.

"My dad," I whispered.

"Oh my god," Emily cried as she rushed to me, cradling my face in her warm hands. It was then that the dam burst and the tears came in torrents down my face. Emily pulled me towards her and let me sob into her shoulder. She shushed me and told me that it was gonna be okay.

"Sam, can you get the car from Harry? She's going to need to go to the hospital," Emily told him over my shoulder. I pulled away her, quickly.

"No, no," I said in a broken voice, shaking my head. "I provoked him. I shouldn't have said what I said," I didn't want my dad to get in trouble, no matter how angry I was at him.

"Cate, sweetie, you have to," Emily said, rubbing her hands up and down my arms as Sam ran out the door. "Even if your lip wasn't that busted up, I would still make you go, just in case. And it doesn't matter what you did or said, no one should ever hit you, ever," Her eyes had hardened with anger and I knew there was no fighting Emily.

I slowly nodded my head. "Okay," I sniffed.

Sam showed up a few moments later with the Harry and Sue's black car. Emily got an ice pack and wrapped it in a towel, telling me to hold it to my face as we walked out the door. Sam got out, leaving the car running and Emily slid into the driver's seat_. _Once we were buckled in, Sam came to Emily's window.

"Paul's out on patrol," He told me.

"Make sure he's here when I get back, please," I smiled at him, cringing at the pain that it caused my face. "And don't tell Luke," He nodded.

"We'll be back soon," Emily gave Sam a peck on the lips. "Love you," She drove off to the hospital.

We spent more time waiting than anything else. The doctor came in asked me some questions, including how it happened; I told him I fell down.

He concluded that I didn't have a concussion and then had the nurse fix up my lip. She disinfected it and then put a clear liquid over it. It felt like super glue. They told me to keep ice on it, take some pain relievers when I need to and that I would probably have some nasty bruises.

"Why didn't you want Sam to tell your brother," Emily asked on the way home.

"Because Luke will go ballistic when he finds out what our dad did," I sighed, lip feeling heavy and swollen.

"Don't be surprised if you find more than your brother and Paul upset about this," She warned me. "Believe it or not, we take this kind of thing pretty serious around here,"

"I'm sure lots of parents hit their kids," I protested.

"Spanking, Cate, is different. A smack when they do something you told them not to do, but back handing your child because she said something you didn't like, is not alright. Busting up your daughter's face is not okay, Cate." Emily seemed rather passionate about it, so I let it go and gave her a small 'okay'. It was then that I noticed my pants.

"I'm never going to get the mud out of these," I huffed, angrily. Emily simply laughed.

Paul was waiting for me when we got back to Emily's house. He had his hands cradling my face gently, as soon as I walked in the door.

"God, Cate," He whispered as his hands trembled. I wrapped my hands around his, resting the good side of my face against his palm.

"I'm fine, okay," I told him, trying to calm him. "It's just my lip,"

His eyes narrowed. "No, it's your entire side of your face," I pulled away from him and spun to the mirror that was in the living room. God, he was right.

Underneath my eye was considerably darker and swollen; an angry mark laid across my temple and down to my cheek that was turning dark. The rest of my cheek was slightly swollen and starting to bruise.

"That's going to be ugly," I muttered, tears welling in my eyes. I turned and Paul was already there, wrapping his arms around me as I cried quietly against him.

"Cate," Emily was standing next to us a glass of water in her hand. I pulled away from Paul slightly and she handed me two white pills. I swallowed them down with the water, handing the empty glass back to her.

"I'm going to call Sue and tell her what happened," She said. I sighed, but nodded. She was going to do it anyways. "You're going to stay here tonight and I'll tell Leah to bring some of your things over,"

"But-" I started and she cut me off with a wave of her hand.

"You're staying," That was all Emily said as she turned in a flurry, going into the kitchen. I sighed and leaned into Paul.

"Come on," He lead me to a part of the house I had never been. It was a small bedroom, slightly bigger than Paul's old bedroom, but the space was taken up by a full sized bed covered in a thick quilt.

I kicked off my muddy heels, hoping I could get them clean. I was about to get into the bed when I remembered my pants. I groaned.

"What, what's wrong," Paul asked in a rush, his hands going everywhere.

"No, it's my pants," I pointed to them and he sighed in relief. "Do you have a pair of sweats or something I could borrow? I don't wanna get your pretty bed all dirty," I asked Paul.

"Of course," He smiled and reached into the tall dresser, pulling out a pair of his cut off sweats. I tugged my coat off, then removing my blazer which was still clean. I took the cut offs from Paul and quickly took my pants off, not caring that Paul was there and pulled his sweats on. They were huge on me, but I tugged the draw string as far as it would go and then rolled the waist a couple of times.

I looked up to find Paul staring at me, his eyes glazed over. The look made something in the pit of my stomach tighten. I torn my eyes from his and crawled into his bed, getting under the covers, being surrounded by the scent that was Paul.

I felt the bed dip and looked up to find Paul crawling in next to me. He got under the covers, but hovered over me, his body not quite resting on mine, but trapping me nonetheless.

"Can I kiss you, Catie," He asked me as his lips brushed against my injured cheek. I swallowed and then let him press his lips to mine. He hardly applied any pressure, afraid to hurt my lip, so I wrapped a hand around his neck and pressed our lips harder against one another.

My mouth opened and Paul dipped his tongue in, sending me buzzing with pleasure. As usual, he wasn't wearing a shirt, so I let my free hand roam all over his hard chest and abdomen. Paul let more of his weight rest on me and I let him settle in between my hips.

Paul moved his lips and tongue down to my neck and exposed collarbone as his large, hot hands moved to the hem of my tank top. His hand skimmed the skin there before moving over my stomach and I felt his finger tips at the underside of my breasts.

I pulled his head and mouth back up to mine and enjoyed the taste that was Paul.

I wanted Paul to touch me, I wanted to feel him. This was what I needed at that moment. I needed someone to just touch me and love me. And not just someone, but Paul. I needed for him to show me that he still wanted me.

"Paul," I whimpered against his lips when his hand ran over my covered breasts. I could feel them tighten in response and when his hands made another pass, I couldn't help the small moan that escaped me.

Paul attack my breasts and lips hungrily...until there came a knock at the door.

"Motherfucking shit," Paul whispered as he lifted himself off me. I tugged my shirt down and tried to make it look like I hadn't been totally sucking face with my boyfriend.

Paul pulled the door open to reveal Leah, holding one of my Louie bags. She ignored Paul, pushing past him. She set my bag on the bed and she did something I wouldn't have ever even dreamed of her doing.

"I'm sorry about what happened," She said, looking over my face, actually looking very sorry.

"Not your fault, but thanks," I shrugged, smiling up at her.

She nodded. "They didn't want you to know, but Luke found out about what your dad did,"

"What!?" I screamed, jumping out of the bed and digging through the bag Leah dropped on the bed. I pulled out the jeans, sneakers and hoodie she had packed for me. Comfort clothes. "Who the hell told him!"

"He overhead Em and Mom talking on the phone," She shrugged.

"Well, what's happening," I asked her as I slid the sweat pants off and my jeans on, shoving my feet into my shoes.

"Cate, what do you think you are doing," Paul demanded as he came pulled me up, off the bed.

"I have to stop what ever is happening or is about to happen," I threw a look over to Leah for her to tell me and she look undecided. "Just tell me Leah,"

"No, you're not getting in the middle of that!" Paul snapped at me. I tried to push him off, but it was no use. He had an iron grip on me.

"Le_ah_," I whined.

She sighed, rubbing a hand through her hair. "I'm not really sure what's happening, but whenever Luke finds your dad, especially if he gets a look at you first, he's going to go crazy on your dad,"

"I can't let them fight! Not over me," I protested against Paul, but he wasn't letting up.

"Cate, no matter what, Luke is going to do what he wants. You can't stop him. You'll upset him more if he sees you. I couldn't imagine seeing my sister, with her face busted up thanks to my dad, and not wanting to kill him for laying a hand on her,"

I pouted. "You don't have a sister,"

"Or a dad. It's hypothetical," He reminded me. I sighed, sagging against him, knowing that he was right.

"Well I can't just stand around and do nothing," Paul hugged me close.

"You should probably give Luke a call," Leah suggested. I had forgotten she was there for a moment. "Explain to him what exactly went down,"

I nodded and gave Paul a quick kiss on the lips, ignoring the slight pain in mine. I held onto his hand as we walked out into the kitchen. I was surprised to see Jared there along with Sam and Emily.

"Shit, dude," Jared said, stuffing a muffin in his mouth. "Your face looks-" Same elbowed him, causing him to choke a little on the bread product.

"It's alright, I just...need to make a phone call," I grabbed the phone and head back into the living room, away from prying ears. I quickly dialed the Clearwater's number. It rang twice before I heard Sue's worried voice.

"Hey, it's Cate,"

"Oh, dear, are you alright. Emily called but-"

"I'm fine, Sue, really. I just need to talk to Luke," I told her. I heard her yelling for Luke and the phone being passed.

"Cate?" My brother's voice came.

"Don't do anything retarded," I said as my greeting. "Listen, I wanna tell you what happened this morning,"

He sighed, pausing. "I'm listening." I told him, almost line for line, what was said. He didn't say anything for awhile.

"I shouldn't have said that to him," I conceded.

"No matter what you said to him, it doesn't give him an excuse to hurt you, Catie," I could hear the strain in his voice.

"I just don't want you doing anything you'd regret later on. I don't want there to be a rift between you guys because of me,"

"Catie...no matter what would have happened today, Dad and I still wouldn't be on the best of terms,"

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean,"

"He's not exactly supportive of the whole wolf thing. He thinks that I had some type of control over it. Even after I explained to him that it wasn't anything anyone could control, that it was just in my genes, he still didn't get it."

"I didn't know that," I sighed, dropping my head into my hand, only then remembering my swollen face when a sharp pain traveled through my head. "Ouch, dammit,"

"Are you alright," Lucas' worried voice asked me.

"Yeah, I'm good. I gotta go and lay down. I'll see you tomorrow. Remember nothing retarded,"

He forced a laugh. "I can't promise anything. Love you, Cate,"

"Love you too, Luke," I pressed the off button and continued sitting on the couch. God. Could my life get anymore fucked up? I'm a faery with some wicked powers. I'm surrounded by werewolves, not that that was a bad thing. My dad fucked up my face, and I sorta deserved it, in a way.

And I had school on Monday. Everyone should see my face and I would be gossip of the school. I could imagine the rumors now.

I stood up and went back into the kitchen, setting the phone in its cradle. I looked around at the people occupying the small table. I looked pointedly at Paul, Jared and Sam who were chowing down on lunch.

"I want you three," I pointed at them. "there to stop my brother from doing anything stupid. God knows he can't control himself," My eyes flashed to Paul. "Nevermind. Paul, you're staying here,"

"What? Oh, come on-" He started complaining.

"No. You'll probably want to rip my dad apart too. And I can't let anyone do that," I paused. "He is still my dad, no matter what,"

"We'll be there, Cate, don't worry," Sam said, going from hungry wolfman to pack leader in second.

"Thanks," I sighed and rubbed my good temple. "Em, can I have more pain reliever?" She shook her head at me, with a soft smile.

"Sorry, not for another two hours,"

"Damn,"

"Why don't you go lay down and _sleep_," She stressed. Alright, so Emily was a smart woman, she knew what was going on and she called me out on it.

"Sure sure," I said and then made my way back to Paul's room. I stuffed myself underneath his warm blankets and closed my eyes. What felt like a few minutes later, I felt the bed dip and Paul wrap an arm around my waist.

"Go to sleep," He whispered as he kissed my chin. I let out my muffled consent, alright drifting off to dreamland.

This time, I went to sleep. I didn't wake up, in the technicolor tent. No I just slept, dreamless and peaceful.

Thank God for small favors.

* * *

**AN: Wow. Seriously, I did not expect this chapter to be this long. Nice ,right? The turn that it took at the beginning, was NOT planned and just sorta happened. **

**So, tell me what you think!! Please? **

**All links have now been posted on my profile, go and check it out. The outfit is up for this chapter! **

**Okay, about the song for this chapter, I KNOW it is by The Fray. I know. But A Day To Remember covered it for Punk Goes Pop Vol. Two. I really, really LOVE ADTR so I choose their versions cuz it just rocks my world.**

**If you have any questions, review or PM me and I'll to answer the best I can. **

**Thanks for all the reviews! And thanks for reading! Love you guys! **


	13. Do You Believe in Magic, Paul?

**Chapter 12**

**Do You Believe in Magic, Paul?**

_If you believe in magic, come along with me  
We'll dance until morning, just you and me  
and maybe, if the music is right  
I'll meet ya tomorrow so late at night _

**Do You Believe in Magic – 78violet **

I felt even worse when I woke up the next morning. My head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, my eye was nearly swollen shut, my lower lip was twice it's normal size and my neck hurt. Fortunately, I was able to get something other than just over-the-counters pain relievers. I don't know where or how Paul got them, but I was happy nonetheless and didn't question the pain killers origin.

The night before, I was unable to sleep and Paul had slept all day, having ran patrol the whole night and part of the morning. So we stayed up and talked. The conversation had started light subjects and at one point it suddenly took a turn towards our childhoods. I told him about the distance of my parents, the screwed up vacations and the moment I discovered dancing.

But then came Paul's turn and it made me realize I could have had things a whole lot worse.

Paul never knew his dad since he up and left when Paul's mom, Mollie, found out she was pregnant.

"Once my mom died and I was living with Paula, she would tell me that I was just like my dad, and at first, I didn't understand. How was I like him? Was it in a good way, or a bad way," Paul's eyes stayed on the ceiling, but I could see them narrow. "My mom always said that my dad just couldn't be here and I just accepted it. I never really asked about him anyhow, but when my aunt started telling me how much I was like him and then in what ways I was like him...it just pissed me off. Here she was, comparing me to man that was angry, temperamental, and mean. And it wasn't as if I could ask my mom about it..." Paul let out a sharp sigh. I cuddled closer to him, trying to comfort him since I didn't know exactly what to say.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out that Paula had dated my dad,"

"No way,"

"Way," Paul smirked, our eyes meeting. "Turns out, my mom sorta stole him from Paula. Since I was a product of their relationship, my aunt couldn't help but dislike me. I guess I look just like my dad," He shrugged.

"Wait, wasn't she mad at your mom, too? You said they were close," I asked, confused.

He shrugged his broad shoulders again. "They were. See, Paula was the older sister, so I don't think she could ever really be mad at her little sister, but that anger had to go somewhere, so it was projected onto me,"

"That's horrible. It wasn't your fault..." I paused, going to bite my lower lip, but stopping realizing it would bring me pain. "Do you know your dad's name, or what he looks like," I wasn't sure if this was subject I was allowed to touch on, but Paul's mouth just dipped down at the corners.

"As far as I know, his name is Jonathan Mercanti and I'm kind of a photocopy of him..." I could tell that Paul was unsure of how to feel about that. I opened my mouth to say something, but let out a huge yawn instead.

"Go to sleep, Princess," He chuckled. I snuggled against him, getting comfortable.

"Shut up," I slurred as I fell asleep. Of course when I fell asleep, I woke up in the technicolor tent. I spent most of my time dealing with Kalen and him freaking out over what happened to me. After I managed to calm Kalen, we worked on my technique. I felt better and more comfortable handling and using my powers and it showed. I was able to summon the power I wanted at will and mold and shaped them anyway I wanted. Kelan was impressed and praised me. The voice in my head agreed, but I was doing better because I had started to rely on my memories.

At first I had blocked them out, not wanting to deal with the past, but I was able to learn and see what exactly I needed to do.

When it was nearing time for me to go back, Kelan joined me in the tent.

"You don't have to come here as often now that you can manage your powers, but I suggest you use them in your world. You need to be accustomed to using them where ever you are," He told, kneeling next to me.

Use my powers, in my real life?

So far, everything with the whole faery situation had seemed like a dream to me. It didn't seem real and I was okay with that, but bringing the two worlds together...I wasn't sure if that was something I could handle. It would mean telling someone about my powers and the truth about me. I should tell Paul. I mean, he would understand. He's a werewolf who kills vampires, I'm sure he would okay with the fact that I was a reincarnated faery queen and I had elemental powers.

I just nodded to Kelan, who brushed a hand over my injuries, not hurting me, but rather, easing the pain and lulling me to sleep.

After eating breakfast with Emily and the pack, I was able to go back to the red house, seeing as how my dad left early that morning for his flight. When I got to my room, I found a folded piece of paper being held down by a small, flat sliver box. I picked up the box, deciding to read the note first as Paul set my bag on the ground and came to read the note over my shoulder.

_Cate,_

"_I'm sorry" doesn't begin to cover after what I did, but I am sorry. For everything. I still love you and I hope that you can forgive me. I hope you like your present. _

_Love,_

_Dad _

I sighed. Of course. The Tim Rostov way of apologizing always involved a present of some sort. I lifted the lid off the box, revealing a set of car keys.

"..."

"Wow, he got you a car," Paul whistled.

"I...I don't even drive..." I stuttered out, my eyes glued to the keys. I didn't even have my permit. My dad usually went overboard with his presents, but this was, by far, the biggest present I had ever received from him.

"You wanna check it out," Paul asked me. I turned to face him, still slightly shocked.

"Sure," Paul grabbed my hand and led me downstairs. Luke was coming out of the kitchen with a bag of chips when he saw me with the keys in hand. He glared at them.

"Come on," I sighed. "I'll show you it," He led us outside and around to the side of the house where the black car was usually parked but in its place sat a shiny blue SUV.

I rushed over to the car, taking in its large frame. I unlocked the door and climbed in, inhaling the scent of new car. Luke joined me, sitting in the passenger seat while Paul stood outside the SUV, his head poking in to take in all the features.

"It's a fully loaded Lexus Hybrid," Lucas explained to me as I took in the features.

"Hey, Luke, why don't you use it for now," I held the keys out to him and he looked at me.

"Why? Cate, this is your present," But his eyes were stuck on the keys. I chuckled.

"I know, but I don't even drive yet and I won't be able to for awhile. I don't want the car just sitting here, so go ahead," I grabbed his large hand and put the key into it, closing his fingers over it.

"Thanks Catie," He smiled at me and I did my best to smile back at him. "I'll teach you how to drive when you're ready,"

"That'll be great. Thanks Luke," I hugged him and took comfort in his warm embrace. "I'm going to go lay down," I told him, pulling away. He smiled and nodded. I got out of the SUV and took Paul's hand.

Once we were back in my room and settled in my bed, Paul turned to me, holding himself up on his elbow.

"Alright, what's wrong," He asked, brushing my hair out of my face. I sighed.

"It's just... My dad has always apologized with presents...and that worked for the little stuff. Missing a dance recital or a talent show, but something like this..." I gestured to my face, which was feeling and looking better, surprisingly. "I just hope he realizes that buying me a Lexus doesn't make this go away,"

"Is that why you gave it to Lucas for the time being," Paul asked, his fingers running through my hair.

"Partly. I mean it makes since for him to use it until I'm able to, but I just don't want a reminder around,"

"That's understandable,"

I snuggled against Paul, nodding. He wrapped his arms around me, putting me against him. I smiled and looked up at him.

"You gotta let me up," I told him, trying to extract myself from his grasp only to have him pull me back towards him.

He smirked. "And why should I do that,"

"Because, I need a shower," I raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes, but let go of me. I grabbed my towel, a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

It felt wonderful to stand underneath the hot spray, washing away yesterday's problems. It was then that Kelan's words whispered through my mind.

I pulled the water towards me, forming a ball in my hand, bouncing it back and forth in between my hands. I let the water ball fall, splashing against the bottom of the tub. This would work, just doing little things, but there was still the issues of telling Paul.

I knew I had to do it. I didn't want to, but he trusted me enough to let me know about him, I should trust him enough to let him know my own dirty secret.

I finished my shower and got dressed. I headed back to my room, toweling my wet hair. I found Paul skimming through my iPod, an eyebrow raised.

"What," I questioned and his eyes shot up to mine, his lips forming a smirk.

"You have...interesting taste in music," He commented, still scrolling through the songs. I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks," I took the player away from him and found the song I was looking for. I placed iPod on it's base, letting the song come out of the speakers.

"_Do you believe in magic, in a young girl's heart..." _

"Wow, nice," Paul chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Who is this,"

"That's not really important," I half smiled at him. How to start a conversation about me being magical... "Do you believe in magic, Paul," Yeah. Let's be blunt.

Paul snickered. "What,"

"Seriously," I sat on the chair in front of my desk while Paul sat on the edge of my bed, facing me. "Do you believe in magic,"

He shrugged. "I don't know," He eyed me, probably thought I was still slightly loopy from the pain pills.

I played with a piece of my hair, keeping my eyes locked on it. "Well, what if I told you that I...have magical powers," I couldn't bare to look at him and see the look on his face declaring me as insane.

"You mean like a witch," He asked. I could hear the skepticism in his voice.

"No," I shook my head. "Like a faery," I brought my eyes up to his and found them disbelieving and confused.

Paul got up from the bed and walked over to me, using his hands to lift my head up to look at him. His gaze was smoldering.

"What are you trying to say, Cate,"

"That I'm a reincarnated faery queen and I can control over the basic elements of the universe..."

I sounded like a complete lunatic but I had to make him believe me.

It was quiet for awhile, Paul's gaze digging into mine. I tried to show him that I was only being truthful.

"Show me," He said suddenly, catching me off guard.

"Wh-what?"

"Show me,"

I sighed. "Alright. I mean, you've already kinda of seen it when I blew the lights out..."

"That was you," He confirmed.

I smiled at him and nodded. "Yup, all me." I got up and went to the bathroom, filling the cup kept in there, with water and bringing it back to my room. I looked at Paul, wringing my hands.

"Okay, now just watch," I told him. I focused on the water and lifted it out of the glass and into the air. I didn't look at Paul, I just kept my concentration on the water.

I brought the water into the palm of my hand, forming into a ball. I noticed Paul walking closer to me. He stuck his finger into the ball, his finger coming out wet.

"Wow," was all he could say. I let the water go back into the cup. We just stared at each other until Paul wrapped his arms around me. I clung to him, suddenly needing the support and then, for some reason, I just started crying. Full out, sobbing crying into Paul's chest. He just held me tight and whispered that it was alright.

Maybe it was the stress of the past three months of keeping a secret that made me break down. Whatever the reason, I felt better after I was done.

And then I started into the whole story of me finding out and all the 'dreams' I had been having and then, very reluctantly, I told him about Kelan. His eyes narrowed and he seemed to shake slightly and I did my best to placate him.

"Really, Kelan is a friend and I've told him that I only want you," I rushed out, tripping over the words, trying to calm Paul. "I mean I told him that I love you and only you, so don't worry about that and plus I don't really have to go and see him anymore since I've gained control over my powers, so it's all-"

"What did you say," Paul interrupted me, his eyes wide. I was confused for a second until I realized what I had just said.

"Um," I choked out.

Paul's face simply lit up into a smile. "You love me?" He asked and I adverted my face, trying to avoid answering. I don't know what I was delaying, but I just didn't want to be the first to say it. I was having trouble taking that dive.

"Well, I love you," Paul blurted out and my head swung to look at him. How did he...

I sighed. "I love you Paul," I whispered. The words that I never thought I would ever utter, had just left my mouth and seeing the look that graced Paul's face made it all worth it.

His grin was infectious and I couldn't help but chuckle as he pulled my face towards his, pressing his warm lips against mine. He took care as he kissed me, being careful not to press to hard on it, but that didn't stop the kiss from being passionate and heated.

Finally, I pulled away, resting my forehead against Paul's. I knew in my heart for awhile that I loved Paul, but telling him took a weight off my shoulders that I didn't notice was there until it was gone.

I pressed another kiss to his lips, smiling, knowing Paul would always be my slice of happiness when everything went to hell.

_**Paul's POV**_

_Cause you're a pretty little windstorm on the boulevard__  
Something like a sunset,oh you're a shooting star  
And I might drive myself insane if those lips aren't speaking my name_

**Love Like Woe- The Ready Set **

When I left Cate's house I could help the smile that was stuck to my face. She, Cate, my imprint, the one who didn't believe in love, had told me that she loved me.

FINALLY!

I knew that Cate would need time to get use to the idea that I was truly and deeply in love with her, but for it to happen so quickly...well I couldn't help but be happy.

But I couldn't help but think that maybe things were going a bit too fast. I mean, she moved here in September and was only the end of November. Three short months and we had already admitted our love for each other. I couldn't exactly compare my imprinting to Jared's or Sam's. Sam's story was just messed up and Kim was already head over heels in love with Jared when he imprinted on her and she had lived on the rez her whole life. I had imprinted on a feisty, neglected, dancing New Yorker.

Cate was so different from any other girl that I had ever met. She was witty and smart. It didn't hurt that she was the most beautiful girl I ever had the pleasure of looking upon. She had huge blue-green eyes that sparkled when they met mine whether it be with anger, annoyance or complete happiness. Her soft, shiny blonde hair was almost to her elbows, and I loved to run my fingers through it, enjoying the feel of it. Her tiny body fit perfectly next to mine just as her slim fingers laced through mine perfectly.

I think part of the reason things went so fast for Cate and I is that up until she had come to La Push, she had been on her own for the most part. Her parents away working and her brother away at college, she was left alone, having barely any attention. When she came here, there were more than enough people willing to give her attention. From Sue being a parental, to the kids at school, to even me, the attention was at her fingertips and I think it scared her to suddenly have so much attention on her, so she clung to one source of attention and luckily, that happened to me.

I was happy, for once, for my forceful nature. Maybe without it, she wouldn't have been drawn to me and then I would have a hell of a lot harder time trying to win her heart.

Once the wolf was out of the bag, pun intended, things got a lot easier between us. We didn't have a huge secret hanging over us, well apart from one.

I'll admit when Cate started rattling on about magic and faeries, I thought I had given her too many pain pills, but then I thought I was the one on drugs when I saw the water float out of the glass into her waiting hand.

But hey, I was a wolf, she was a faery and all that was overridden when she accidentally blurted out that she loved me. I didn't care about anything else after that. She loved me and I loved her and I could finally say it to her. I could see her hesitance in saying it first. From my experience, girls liked it when the guy made the big gesture first. So that's what I did, I told her first and it was totally worth going first after hearing her say she loved me, Paul. "Love you" and "Paul" in the same sentence made my head and heart spin and totally sent me off the deep end, in a good way.

I took a sharp turn into the woods, stripping off my clothes and quickly transforming, wincing as I finally took my wolf-form.

_Hey Paul! Damn, you're happy...Oh! Congrats man! _

I gave Jared a wolfy grin. _Thanks dude. I'm just...happy. Things seem to be looking up. _I probably shouldn't let him know about-

_Cate's a faery? Magic? Dude, what were you two smoking and where can I get some? _He chuckled.

_Jared, you can't say ANYTHING TO ANYONE about it, alright. Cate's freaked out enough about the whole thing. _I warned him, growling slightly as I began my runs around the new borders we had established since the leech family had left.

_Alright, I'll keep my mouth shut, but I can't promise it won't slip. _

I rolled my eyes, annoyed. _Just do your best, asshole. _

_Damn, you'd think you would be less of a bastard considering all that happened today...Oh hey man! A Lexus Hybrid. Shit, her dad must be loaded. _

_Just shut the fuck up and run. _

Jared snickered, but shut his trap and kept on running.

I sighed, learning all that I had today about Cate, was still weighing on my mind and I was trying to process it now that it was coming back to me.

I wasn't good with weird. Cate seemed to do okay with it, but me not so much. I was barely use to being a wolf even after six months. So, it was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that she was magical, despite the fact that she had showed me.

But now wasn't the time to deal with it, not with another person in my head. This would have to wait to later, when I was alone.

_Yeah, cuz we both know what you like to do with your "alone" time when you think about Cate. _

_ I'm so kicking your ass! And as if you don't do the same with Kim!_

_ That's the difference. _I could hear his snicker. _I do it_ with _Kim, not my hand. _

He was going to die.

**AN: Um, hello, is there anyone there? Oh! Hi there! I'm sorry I haven't updated. Excuses: My grandma was in the hospital and then she had a quadruple heart bypass. Yeah...but still I'm sorry for not updating but I decided to sweeten this chapter with some Paul POV. I actually really love writing him! I always like writing male characters more than female. Hmm. **

**Anyways, links are all up on profile and they are very neatly organized. The new one for the Lexus is up! **

**Thank you all SOOO much for sticking with me and reviewing! Reviews make me so happy! I love all of you for reading and reviewing. You guys rock!**

**You know what I need? Someone to give me a swift kick in the ass when I'm taking to long to update. Seriously. Anyone up for the role? **

**Once again. Thanks soooo much! LOVE YOU ALL! **


	14. PLEASE READ!

Hai my lovely readers,

So as yall noticed, I haven't updated in a really long time. I'm really sorry. I've had a LOT going on these past few months and I've been blocked on both of my stories. This is where YOU the reader comes in:

**I want all of you to tell me what you think should or want to happen. **

I just need something to go off of and who better to ask then the people who read my stories.

By helping me, you are helping yourself. I just need inspiration.

You can include songs, anything you want that you think might help kick my brain back into writer's mode.

I love you guys and I want to finish these stories for you and for me.

_Thanks SOOO much for reading and reviewing and all the great PMs that I get from people telling me to write. _

So, PM me or you can review, with **YOUR** ideas.

Love yall! THANKS!

Yours truly,

Marie Pattin


	15. Step Right Up

**Chapter 13**

**Step Right Up**

_Step right up  
Shoot an arrow at the target  
My heart is an easy thing for you to hit  
Don't worry  
If you miss I'll let you shoot again  
My heart is an easy thing for you to win_

**Step Right Up- The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus **

By the time Monday morning rolled around, the swelling on my face was almost completely gone, but the bruising was still horrendous. I did the best I could with cover-up and foundation, but it was still obvious. I decided on wearing my hair down and around my face, hoping to conceal the bruises.

I gave up with my face and decided to just get dressed. I pulled on a dark burgundy dress that came to the tops of my thighs. I slipped into a pair of ripped up leggings and pulled on gray knee-high boots. I slipped white feather earrings through my ears and a long gold necklace over my head. My grandmother's ring and the new ring from Ireland that my father gave me along with a sliver, sparkly ring that looked like leaves ring, all slipped onto my fingers. I thought about a bracelet, only to remember the three that now occupying my wrist for the rest of eternity.

With a roll of my eyes and a quick look in the mirror, I grabbed my coat and my leather school bag and made my way downstairs.

I could hear my brother still snoring away on the couch but Seth and Leah were already at the table, munching on some pancakes and bacon. I flopped into the chair next to Leah after getting myself some coffee. Sue, Harry, Seth and Leah all looked at me strangely.

"What?" I questioned them, stealing a piece of bacon off Seth's plate. Sue answered first.

"Nothing, Cate," She smiled and gave a plate filled with food which I dug into. As I was consuming the delicious breakfast, it occurred to me that this was my first time actually sitting down and eating breakfast with the Clearwater family. I usually breezed straight out the door, with barely a word to anybody.

I knew what had changed; I wasn't that dense. After the whole incident with my dad, I really was touched by how the Clearwaters had been there for me, defending me and helping me. Sure, Harry was a little gruff, Sue was a bit strict, Leah could be a bit of a bitch, and Seth...well Seth was just a cool kid, but they cared and family meant more to them then anything else.

Late last night, I had gotten up to use the bathroom when I heard Sue and Harry talking. I tip-toed my way to the stair case and sat on the top step, so I could listen in.

"I'm just glad you got into him before he left. God knows I wanted to along with the rest of the pack," Sue said to her husband.

Harry said something to my dad?

"Well, what he did was completely unacceptable," Harry's gruff voice answered her. "I couldn't imagine laying my hands on Leah or Seth like that, not in a million years. I don't know what happened to Tim. He's changed and not for the better,"

Sue sighed. "I know, honey. Power, money-it changes people. Tim's been hurt by everything Bridget has done to him. Though, I get the feeling somethings not right with her..."She trailed off and despite my anger at my mother, I couldn't help but feel offended at Sue's words. "But still that doesn't excuse Timothy's behavior and actions. He may not realize it now, but he has just isolated both of his children. Lucas was deeply hurt by what his father said to him. He opened up to him and shared something so personal, only to have Tim reject him like that. And Cate, well I don't how she's going to cope with what her father did to her. I don't he ever raised a hand to her until Saturday,"

Sue was right...

"She loves Tim, despite everything. Cate doesn't forgive easily," Harry said to his wife.

It made tears spring to my eyes how much Harry had noticed about me as a person. Here I was, doing everything I could to put myself off from these people and all they did was care about me and my brother, opening up their home to us.

As I got up from the staircase, I decided that I would give more respect to Sue and Harry. They deserved it.

I had cleared my plate, sticking it in the sink and thanking Sue. She smiled and told me to have a good day.

As I closed the door behind me a felt a dark shadow come over me. I smiled and turned to face Paul.

"Good morning," I said as I wrapped my arms around him. He chuckled and pulled me closer to him, kissing the top of my head. I looked at him to see his tired eyes shining down at me. He placed a soft kiss against my lips. I melted into him at the gentle sweetness of the kiss. He pulled away.

"I missed you," He told me as he kept one arm wrapped tightly around me as we started walking to school.

"I missed you too," I said as I leaned against him as we walked. "So I want to know what happened yesterday with Luke and Sam," I had waited up for Lucas but I ended up passing out by midnight and since he was passed out this morning, I didn't get the chance to ask him.

Paul let out a low whistle. "I've never seen Sam so...upset,"

"He was upset at Luke," That surprised me. "Why?" Paul narrowed his eyes for a moment and then looked at me.

"Well you now how Sam and Leah use to date," He told me as he lifted me up over a puddle. "Sam kinda freaked out on Luke," Paul took in my confused look. "Don't get me wrong! Sam is completely devoted to Emily, but still Leah is very dear to him and he couldn't help but to get upset,"

"I understand," I nodded.

"After that little spat, Sam and Luke were able to sit down and talk about wolves and imprinting, all that jazz we need to know," He shook his head.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just poor Luke. He had to go through the change all by himself with no clue as to what was happening to him. I don't know how he didn't go completely insane. When I first phased, God, it was so intense, painful even. But Sam and Jared were there. They talked to me, helped me out, explained to me how to calm down and phase back to human,"

I smiled. "Luke's strong...and stubborn like that,"

Paul laughed. "Yeah he is. Must run in the family," He kissed the side of my head as I tired to poke him in the side. "I think it helped him and Sam to bond a bit because Sam was totally alone and confused too being the first to change and all."

We were at school by now so the wolfy talk had to end, but I was glad to know what was going on with my brother now. I was happy that he finally could be around the other guys and not have to be alone in dealing with becoming a werewolf. Hopefully being surrounded by a whole group who accepted him would help him to deal with the fact that Dad had given him the brush off.

Paul walked me to my locker and then to my first class. I couldn't help but notice everyone staring at Paul gave me a quick peck on the lips, promising to walk to my next class. Suddenly, heads were together whispering and I just rolled my eyes. I took my seat and waited for Mr. Morgan to start class.

Ten minutes into class, while Mr. Morgan was reading a poem to us, I felt my phone vibrate. Pulling it out of my bag, the screen told me I had a text message from Paul. A smile took over my face as I read it.

_Miss u already. Dont let ppl get 2 u 2 much. They r just jealous. _

I quickly sent him a response.

_Miss u 2. see u after class. 3_

My phone was shoved back in my bag before Mr. Morgan could catch me and take it away. I couldn't wait for class to over so I could see Paul. Unfortunately, my excitement didn't make me deaf to the whispers around me.

"Geez, I knew Paul had a temper but to hit a girl..."

"That douche is nothing but trouble."

"Someone should have warned her before she got involved with that ass."

I did the best I could to ignore the comments, but they just made me angry. I couldn't believe that people would think that Paul would do this to me. He was the sweetest, gentlest guy ever. I don't think he could ever hurt me...well except for the first night we met. That first night made me smile. Sure, it wasn't one of my better moments, but I'm a far cry from that sad, lonely girl. However, I was still Cate, the strong New Yorker with the ability to kick any one's ass...verbally at least.

"Listen up," I said loud enough to get every one's attention. I stood up, crossing my arms. "Paul didn't hit me. He would never hurt me. So if everyone could stop talking crap on my boyfriend, I would really appreciate it," I leaned down to grab my bag, only to remember something else I wanted to say. "If you do feel the need to say something, I suggest you pass around what I just said and take any concerns you have up with Paul himself." Everyone kept staring at me. I raised an eyebrow. "I'm done now," I smirked.

The bell rang and I was the first out the door. Paul was leaning up against the lockers across from my class. I rushed up to him, throwing my arms around his neck. He was quick to wrap his arms around me, holding me close to him.

"You alright," He whispered into my ear. I just nodded and inhaled his spicy, woodsy scent. "You didn't have to defend me, Cate,"

"I wanted to," I told him. "I felt like they were attacking me, not you. I couldn't stand it." He hugged me tighter and pressed a kiss against my neck. I closed my eyes and felt my heart rate accelerate.

"Let's get to class," Paul breathed, loosening his hold on me, pressing a kiss to my forehead. I took his hand and let him lead us to Biology. I continued to ignore the stares that we were getting. We took our usually table in Biology and waited for Mrs. Hathburn to start class.

We still were on the receiving end of many stares but the whispering had decreased. That's the nice thing about going to a school with less than seventy students; word travels fast.

After Biology, Paul and I had to go our separate ways again. When we got the door, Paul swept me into a kiss that was highly inappropriate for the doorway of art class. Promising to see me at lunch, I was left to stumble to my seat. I realized Mr. Mac was giving me a questioning look that almost made me blush.

"When did you and Paul get so chummy?" I heard Day ask from beside me. I turned to look at him. He had changed slightly since I first met him. His hair wasn't as bright and his eyes seem to be dull, like there was no emotion behind them.

Day and I had talked in the three months I had been in Washington. I could tell that he liked me, but I just couldn't let that go any further. Even though, at the time, Paul and I weren't officially together, it still felt wrong. Plus, I was not even remotely interested in Day.

"Well, we've close for awhile, but over break we decided that we wanted to be together, officially," I explained to Day as I set up my canvas to finish the sketch for my next painting. Oddly enough, I was using my dream-visits to Kelan as my inspiration. I wanted the end result to resemble the first night I visited the technicolor tent, with a herd of fireflies surrounding me. I could only hope that it would come out decent enough that other people would understand it.

"I don't like it," Day huffed.

"You don't have to and frankly, I don't care if you do or not," I kept my back to him as I told him very nonchalantly, how I felt.

"That kid is nothing but trouble and he's only going to hurt you," I heard Day stand up, his chair shrieking against the floor. Suddenly his hand was wrapped around my wrist, spinning me to look at him, causing my elbow to knock into my canvas, sending it to the floor. I was forced to look into his dead eyes. "If you were smart, you'd away from him," The anger sizzled through my body and before I knew it Day was being pushed away from me by a strong gust of wind and sent him crashing into the wooden shelves that held all the students' artwork. Day slipped to the floor as papers floated down around him.

Mr. Mac rushed over to Day, helping him up, asking him if he was okay. After Day nodded that he was fine, Mac turned his gaze to me.

"What the hell happened?" He demanded to know. I was a little to shocked to answer. Yeah, using my powers outside of dreamland. Great idea. Mac didn't wait long before taking both Day and me to the principle's office.

I sat in the ugly gray chair, waiting my turn with the dragon man. Wonderful. Just when I decided to turn over a new leaf in this damn place, I wind up in the principle's office. Sue and Harry are just going to love me now.

I groaned and sank lower into the chair, trying to think of a way to cover my ass. How exactly was I going to explain pushing Day over ten feet back and slamming him into the wall? I needed to think of something. Fast.

Mr. Littlesea opened his office door and Day came out looking slightly disheveled. His eyes flashed towards me and I couldn't help but to notice the fury and hatred in them.

"Come with me, Catherine," Mr. Littlesea motioned for me to follow him into his office.

Mr. Littlesea was called the dragon man, I wasn't sure why as I had never met him before, but it was obvious why. He was an intimidating man, his voice as deep as the ocean and husky. He was had the same dark skin like most of the other Quileutes with short dark hair that framed his lined face. I felt like I was five again around him.

Shutting the door behind me, he told me to take a seat as he sat in his leather chair. "I would like to know what happened between you and Darcy."

I took a breath. "Well, Day has a bit of a crush on me and he found out that I'm dating Paul Walker. He got really angry and said some rather harsh things about Paul and I. I told him that what he thought didn't matter, and that I didn't care what he thought. He grabbed my wrist and made me turn towards him, making me knock my canvas to the floor. I just pushed him off me. There must have been a puddle of something that made him slide backwards," I can't believe how bad I was bullshitting this story.

Mr. Littlesea raised an eyebrow at my story. "Darcy said he felt as if he was blown back by some unknown wind."

I shrugged. "Well he was knocked into some hard wooden shelves. Maybe he hit his head and got confused," _Please buy my story, please. I do not need to be in trouble. _

Mr. Littlesea nodded and seemed to be thoughtful for a minute. "You're dating Paul," He commented and all I could do was nod, slightly confused as to why my relationship with Paul was important. "You know Catherine, I'm part of tribal elders," That surprised me. I had never seen him at any of the bonfires or even heard him mentioned. "I try not to involve myself to much with anything that students might be involved in, don't want to seem partial to anybody." His mouth quirked up on one side. "But as much as I am a principle, I am also an elder and I need to protect this tribe," He was quite for a moment. "So I'm going to give you both a warning. I suggest you stay away from Darcy, understood?"

"Yes sir," I squeaked. Geez, this man was almost too much and now I felt as if I no choice but to respect him. He was a freakin' tribal elder and probably knew as much, if not more, than me about the wolves.

He closed his eyes and nodded. "Good. I'll expect an apology from both you and Darcy,"

"Of course, sir,"

"Let's get you back to class then," Mr. Littlesea said as he stood up. He opened the door and gestured for me to go out first. Day was still sitting there, looking more sullen then ever. He lifted his eyes to glare at me.

"Darcy, Catherine, I would like for you both to apologize to each other and then head back to class. Consider this your only warning," He eyed us both.

"I'm sorry I pushed you," I mumbled to Day as he stood up and looked down at me.

"Yeah, sorry I grabbed you," He was looking everywhere but me, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Good," Mr. Littlesea nodded. "Go back to class." Not needing to be told twice, I flew past Day and made my way back to Art so I could grab my books and get to History class. I didn't look back to see if Day had followed.

Paul, once again, was waiting for me when I got out of history. I had never seen a look so intense on his face before. His eyes were looking at the ground, but I could still tell the stormy expression he had written across his face.

I slipped my hand into his hot one and pressed a kiss to his equally as hot cheek.

"I'm fine," I promised him.

"I should have been there, Catie, I should have-" He began to torture himself. I wasn't going to have that.

"Paul Walker, there was nothing you could have done to stop him. I'm not even hurt and I have...ways to protect myself," I looked into his chocolate eyes. He was torn between beating himself up and listening to me. "How do you think I got him off me?" I winked at him.

That made him smirk a little. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm just glad my little imprint can protect herself," He mumbled against my hair. I smiled and pulled away from him.

"Come on," I pulled on him. "We're missing lunch," He happily followed me, his long strides easily over taking me.

Luckily, the rest of the day went by smoothly. I was even able to answer correctly in Quileute during Language class. I was bouncing as Paul led me out to his car. I did a quick spin on my tip-toes when a thought hit me.

"Paul!" I called to him, even though he was right next to me. He winced.

"Yes, dear,"

"Can you take me to Forks?" I held onto his arm with both hands, bouncing lightly. He looked fairly amused.

"Why,"

I took a breath. "There's this dance studio that I found out about and I really want to go and check it out so I can see if I can sign up for classes there it would totally just so make this wonderful day even better please please please take me!" Paul just looked at me like I had grown a third head.

"Sure, sure," He chuckled and I could tell he was wondering about my sanity.

_Well at least someone does. _

Oh shush you.

I could barely contain myself as Paul drove towards Forks. I had only been there as I passed through the town to get to La Push. I couldn't wait to check this place out. I had already decided that even if it sucked, it was better than not dancing at all.

After my spat with my dad, I really thought about what I had said to him, about dancing only being an outlet. While that was true, I still loved dancing. I loved how I felt when I danced. I wasn't me without dancing. I was truly passionate about it and wanted to have as a part of my life.

It wasn't hard to find the dance studio in the small town. It was a plain, brick building that had a simple sign that read, "Heidi's Dance Studio". I bounced in my seat as Paul parked the car. I took his hand and nearly dragged him inside.

The studio was huge and open, with mirrors along three out of the four walls. There was a class currently going on and I watched as the instructor taught the group of little girls. I smiled as I thought about my first classes when I was younger. The class was soon over and Paul and I stood off to the side while the little girls gathered their things and were picked up by their parents.

When the teacher was finally alone, I approached her. I could see that she was about as tall as I was and had dark hair streaked with gray which hung just below her shoulders in tight spiral curls.

"Excuse me," I said as she turned to me. She was pretty with dark eyes and laugh lines around her mouth.

"Yes," She looked me up and down and then shot a look over at Paul, who looked bored, sitting in a chair that looked almost to small for him.

I stuck my hand out. "Hi, I'm Cate Rostov. I'm from La Push," She shook my head and smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm Heidi Mason. You certainly don't look like your from La Push," She mentioned as she took a look at my designer boots.

I laughed. "I'm originally from New York City. I've only lived here for a few months,"

"Well what brings you to my studio," She questioned.

"I was wondering about your classes. You see I'm a dancer. I was enrolled at the New York School of Performing Arts, in their advance dance program there. I haven't been to a formal class since I left New York in September and I'm really itching to get back to it. I figured your classes have already started but I was wondering if you might have room for me somewhere," I finally took a breath, and let my hands twist together and fall in front of me to stop them from their rather wild gesturing.

"Why didn't you come here when you first arrived?" She asked, her arms folded in front of her. I could tell that Heidi had some fire to her and wasn't going to back off on the hard questions.

"Well I Googled before I came here, to find a place to take classes but all I could find was over an hour away. It wasn't until I was shopping the other day that I came across your flier. Plus, I don't get out of La Push all that much," I explained to her.

She sighed. "You're what, sixteen?"

"Fifteen, sixteen in March,"

"All my upper level classes are full, all of my classes are full and have a waiting list. It wouldn't be fair to let you in while there are other girls who've been on that waiting list for months," She sounded like she was ending the conversation. No. I was going to join her classes. I needed to.

"Well, no offense to those girls, but I'm better than they are," I may have sounded cocky, but dancing was one thing I didn't lie about.

Heidi raised a dark eyebrow at me. "That's confident of you..." She paused and seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Show me what you got. I assume you have your shoes," I simply smiled and nodded. "Go ahead, get warmed up and then I want you to put your money where you mouth is," She glided away from me and over to the counter that was next to the door. I scampered over to Paul who looked up at my arrival.

"You can do this Cate," He said confidently as I pulled off my boots and pulled on my toe shoes, lacing and tying them. "I've seen you dance. You're beautiful and amazing." My heart swelled at his words. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He pulled me away, pressed a kiss to my forehead and then gestured to the dance floor. "Go get warmed up," I nodded and pulled away from him.

To say I wasn't nervous would have been a lie. I knew I was good, I just needed to convince Heidi that I was good. As I walked up to the bar that was attached to the mirrors, I knew I just had to show her that I was worth it.

I stretched my muscles and heard Heidi walk over after a few minutes. I held up my iPod to her. "Is there a place where I could plug this in," She nodded and pointed to the iHome that sat on a stand connected to big speakers. I turned it on and put on the song I wanted. Before starting it, I told Heidi, "This is a dance a helped choreograph at my school for my new semester dance," I floated out to the middle of the dance floor and took my position as I waited for the music to start.

The music flowed out to me and I started to dance. I was nervous and I knew she could see it in my movements. On one of the first turns, I caught a glimpse of Paul's smiling face and that was all I needed. After that it was like Heidi disappeared and it was just Paul and me.

I danced for him, I danced for me, I danced because, in the end, what else could I do?

The song ended and so did my dance. A slight sheen on my forehead and my breathing was a little picked up, but I felt so exhilarated.

I turned to Heidi. She seemed...I couldn't decipher the look on her face and just like that my nerves came rushing back at me.

"The fifteen and sixteen year-olds met on Mondays and Thursday at six to seven-thirty," Oh my god. She was going to let me in! "But I'm not going to put you in with them," And just like that my bubble was popped. "I'd rather put you in with the seventeen and eighteen year old girls. You'd fit in better with them, skills-wise." Way to give me a heart attack!

I couldn't help but rush at her and embrace Heidi with a hug. "Thank you! Thank you!" I pulled away from her, and she laughed. "You don't know how much this means to me! What time are classes?"

"Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at six," She smiled as she led me over to where Paul was sitting. "Don't be late," She smiled and then went into a back room. I felt Paul lift me up and embrace me, spinning me around.

"Congratulations!" He said and I pulled his face towards mine, kissing him deeply, running my fingers through his short hair.

"Thank you," I breathed against him as I let my forehead rest against his hot one. "I couldn't have done this with out you, Paul. I love you so much,"

He smiled. "I love you, too...Princess,"

Way to ruin a moment.

**Uhm. Hi! SO...yeah I haven't updated in...a year? The only thing I can say is I'm sorry. I lost myself for awhile along with my writing. I just had nothing left in me. I hope this chapter is the start of finishing this bad boy. I started it nearly 3 years ago, wrote a few chapters, scraped it and rewrote it all over again. **

**So tell me what you think. Please. I hope this chapter was worth it after waiting for so long. I know it's kinda fluffy and fillerish. But I still hoped yall enjoyed. Review? **


	16. Renegade

**Chapter 14**

**Renegade**

_I'm a renegade_

_its in my blood_

_I'm a renegade_

_I always was_

**Renegade- Paramore**

Kelan sighed.

"I thought we went over this. There isn't much I can do to make it so you can't take the throne."

I grumbled. "I can not be a queen, Kelan. That just isn't me. If I became queen then I would have to live in the fey world. I can't do that. I can't be with out Paul and he needs to be in La Push with the pack." I shuddered to think of us being apart for anything longer than a day; my body nearly doubled over in pain.

Enough of those thoughts...

He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You would have to remove yourself from the throne," He shook his head, against the very thought of it. He turned, his green eyes blazing. "The people have been waiting for years for their queen to return to them..."His gaze became thoughtful, distant. "For you to not come back to them, to abandon them again," Kelan looked sick. "You have to return to the throne. I...The people want their queen. They love and adore you...to not be queen..." He didn't finish.

I sighed. What was I to do? Being queen again, though in my past life I couldn't imagine not leading the fey, not being there for them, something bigger has taken precedence over a race of magical beings; another magical being albeit, but still.

"I'm sorry Kelan, I can not be queen." I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath, delving into my memories. My eyes snapped over. "I'll call the council," Kelan's face looked absolutely horrified. "Don't give me that look. You know that once I call a meeting and put my matters on the table that they will agree. They are terrified of my powers and would not contest anything I say."

"Cate...Aslin, do you not remember what they have done to us...to the people?" Kelan never called me Aslin. Never.

The Council was the constructed of one member from each magical group. There was even a mermaid and a vampire on the group, who'd of thought. But Kelan was right, they had decided some horrible things in my absence and even acted without consenting Kelan at times though he was the head of the council. They had gotten too brave, too daring without me.

I put my hands on Kelan's worried face, cupping his cheeks. "I will make it this right before I let the people know," I smiled at him. "You are king. You shall lead the fey just as you have done since I've been gone. It's time for change, Kelan." I told him, my words having a double meaning. Yes, it was time for him to be the official king but it was also time for him to forget about Aslin, about me, and move on to another. Kelan was a handsome and kind faery, he deserve someone wonderful.

Kelan sighed and pulled my hands away. "I guess I have no choice," He relented.

I smirked. "None at all." I dropped my hands to the pillows next to me. We were in the tent, drinking tea as we discussed the future. Kelan had done a spit take when I told him that I was not going to be returning to the throne.

Kelan let himself fall over onto a aqua blanket and kelly green pillows. It was the most ungraceful thing I had ever seen him do. I just sat there, blinking at him as he pouted at a crimson body pillow.

"Uh," I started, shocked. "Are you alright,"

He snorted. "I'm fine."

"Sure," I drew out the word. I set my tea cup on the tray. "Well, I better be going. I have plans with my brother," I cringed a little. Our plan was to head over to the local diner and have some bonding time but some how Leah had invited herself and now it was going to be my brother, his girlfriend and me. I was tempted to bring Paul, but I knew how much he hated Leah.

"I'll contact you when the council meeting is set," He was still pouting at the pillow.

"Later then," I closed my eyes and relaxed my mind. I felt myself float for a brief second and when I opened my eyes a half second later, I was back in my room, laying on my bed. A quick glance at my phone let me know I was only out for fifteen minutes. I got up and stretched. It had been almost a month since I had auditioned for Heidi and started advance dance classes. It felt amazing to be dancing again even though the class I was in wasn't difficult for me at all, it still was a good feeling to dance, being surrounded by girls who also enjoyed it. I had also taken a quick liking to Heidi. She was very serious about dancing but was also kind-hearted and funny.

I went to my closet, pulling out a fresh shirt and tossing the one I had worn to school in my hamper.

Paul waltzed into my room just as I was pulling my purple shirt down, letting him get a glance at my lacy pink and black polka-dotted bra. He froze for a second, just staring at me before closing the door behind him and sweeping me into his arms all in the matter of two seconds. He pressed his soft, warm lips against mine and I smiled as I let my mouth open, enjoying the feeling as his tongue slipped in to my mouth. I groaned quietly and he only pulled me closer, and aligning every line of our bodies against one another. I groaned, fisting the sleeves of his t-shirt.

Paul pulled away slowly, letting his forehead rest against mine.

"Wow," I said. Though I didn't mind the intense make-out session, Paul usually held himself back a bit more, trying to "protect me" and himself "from my brother". I told him that Luke did more "things" with Leah and not to worry about my brother. Paul had to remind me of that Luke could see his every thought, I cringed then.

"Sorry," he mumbled, not sounding apologetic at all.

I scoffed. "Please, that needs to happen more. I thoroughly enjoyed myself," I smiled at him, looking into his almost black eyes. His grin was wide and pleased. I pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

"You still going to dinner with your brother," he asked me as he carefully set me down so I didn't lose my balance on my heels. He shot me a look when I nodded and groaned.

"Leah's coming," I pouted. I rifled through my purse, pulling out my compact and touching up my makeup. "She found a way to invite herself and of course, love sick Luke couldn't say no," I snapped my compact shut and threw it back into my makeup bag.

"Do you want me to tag along," He offered as he went to sit on my bed.

"I would love that," I went to stand in between his legs, wrapping my arms around his neck, our eyes nearly level. "But that would be the most awkward double date. Ever. You hate Leah and she can't stand you. My brother wants to like you since I love you and your his pack brother, but you love me and I'm his baby sister so he can't just quite like you. And Leah, well she just tolerates my being here because I'm her boyfriend's little sister that he loves to death." I sighed.

Paul just looked at me in amazement. "When do you breath when you speak?"

I laughed. "It's a gift." I winked at him.

"Are you sure you don't want me there," His eyes were concerned, a frown setting onto his mouth. I shook my head quickly.  
"I'll live." I shrugged and sighed dramatically. We shared a smile as I pecked him on the lips. He pulled me closer and our kiss lingered on.

"Cate," My door slammed into my wall causing me to jump and bump my head against Paul's.

"Ow," I cried and rubbed my head. Paul was quick to check me over for any other injuries and then glared at the intruder.

"Paul," Lucas greeted him evenly.

"Luke," He replied.

I rolled my eyes and turned towards my brother, feeling Paul standing up and wrapping his huge warm arms around my shoulders.

"You ready, Cate," My brother asked, eyeballing Paul's arms.

I nodded. "Yup," Paul walked with me as I picked up my purse and jacket, keeping his arms around me. He only let go once I nudge his arms so I could put my jacket on. He held onto my hand as we followed my brother out of my bedroom and down the stairs where Leah was already waiting by the door for us. She latched onto my brother and I refused to look, but heard as she gave him a kiss. When I did look back over at her she was giving me another one of her glares. If only she knew that I could burn all her hair off with a single movement of my finger.

"Chill," Paul whispered in my ear after he had pulled me into his toasty embrace. Sometimes I hated it when he could tell what I was thinking.

"I'm fine," I pressed a kiss to his soft cheek and gave him my best smile. Paul still looked a little unbelieving of me.

"Alright, I have patrol so I'll see you tomorrow morning," I nodded and sighed. Paul and I had been together long enough that I was already use to the routine of patrols. With only Sam, Paul, Jared and Lucas being able to shift, they were always busy running patrols. Sam did his best to try and keep Paul and Jared in school as much as possible but they still missed a lot of school. But there was only one more day left of school before Christmas vacation should they wouldn't have to worry about working around school for awhile.

"Alright. I love you," I tell him as he squeezes me tightly before letting me go.

"Love you too," I smile and watch as Paul goes through the kitchen and out the back door, running for the tree line.

I turned to Lucas. "Let's go," Leah and him lead the way out to my Lexus. It was a beautiful vehicle and I let Paul use it to drive us to school. I should start learning to drive soon, but with my brother and Paul able to drive for me, I didn't really see the point right now.

It was a quick drive to the only diner in La Push. Max's was a bit of a dive but no one really cared with it being the only restaurant in town. Luke parked the SUV and I walked slightly behind them as we entered the diner. Louise, the owner's wife, was quick to greet us with a big smile.

"Well, Luke and Leah, how are you two," She asked them as she grabbed two menus.  
"We're good. My sister, Cate," He gestured to me. "is going to be eating with us too." I don't know if she overlooked me or what, but I felt a little offended.

Louise looked me over, taking in my black pea coat, my dark skinny jeans and tall heels. "Ah, yes, Cate. I've heard about you from my daughter." Louise had a slight southern accent that I didn't notice until now. She smiled at me, grabbed another menu and led us to a booth towards the back of the diner.

Luke and Leah were busy discussing what they wanted, generally annoying the hell out of me as I picked out a simple chicken salad from the menu.

I had wanted this time with Luke to talk about our mom and dad. Ever since my dad's visit at Thanksgiving and all that went down, I had been thinking a lot about him and my mother who I hadn't spoken to since I had left New York. My father called me about once a week but I never answered although he left voice mails for me. He would catch me up on where he was going next for business and at the end he always said he was sorry and that he loved me. I knew he had been calling Lucas too.

My mother...she was a different story. She hadn't tried to contact me or Lucas since she had filed for divorce. After my anger had died down a bit, I realized this wasn't like my mother. She wouldn't just up and leave my brother and I. I knew that she loved us but something bigger was going on, something strange and I had a feeling it had to do with her faery ancestry. After reading up and talking with Kelan, a person with faery blood who didn't know they had faery blood in them was easily possessed by others who could control magic simply because they didn't know how to protect themselves from outside influences.

Could I tell any of this to my brother; of course _not_. Leah was really starting to get to me with how much time she took of my brother's. Between being a werewolf and sleeping, Lucas didn't have much time for anything else and when he did have a spare moment he spent it with Leah. I understood that they were in a relationship, that they were imprinted. I understood better than most people, but he was still my brother and I deserve some of his time.

By the time Louise had come to take our orders, I had worked my self up to near my boiling point. When she asked me for my order, I grabbed my purse and stood up out of the booth.

"Cate," My brother questioned me, confused. "Where are you going," He really had no idea.

Swinging my purse onto my shoulder, I glared at him and Leah. "You know Luke, I get that Leah is kinda your whole life now, but seriously, I'm your sister. Your _only_ sister," I held back my tear, ignoring the burning in my nose. "Leah's a bitch," Several eavesdroppers gasped. "This was suppose to be just me and you today, but no, your damn precious Leah couldn't even give me a couple of hours with my brother," Lucas' face was caught between being pissed and hurt. I turned my gaze to Leah. "Grow the fuck up Leah. I'm not competition trying to steal your boyfriend," I smirked then. A feeling had welled up in me. I didn't know if it was my powers or if it was just months of bottled up emotions but the words slid out of my mouth before I had the chance to think about them. "But you know what's that like, don't you," The hurt and anger slid down her face.

"Cate," Lucas' voice was warning me, scolding me, all in one syllable. I felt the shame but still continued on.

"Whatever." I wrapped my scarf around my neck. "When you feeling like being a decent brother and not ignoring me, let me know," I almost turned to leave but as an afterthought, I grabbed the keys to the Lexus that my brother had left on the table. I raced out of the diner and got into the car and took off down the road. Admittedly, I had only driven once and that was with Paul almost three weeks ago, but I knew enough to get myself home...I hoped. The drive there was easy and simple with only a couple of turns and virtually no other cars on the road. I merely hopped out of the Lexus, leaving it running, ran inside and grabbed my dance bag. I got back into the SUV all within two minutes and I was back on the road and heading into Forks.

I need escape, I need freedom, I needed to dance.

I arrived at Heidi's and parked, almost hitting another car. Oops. I grabbed my bag and hurried inside. Heidi was currently busy teaching a class of four and five year-olds. She smiled at me as I entered and motioned me over to her.

"Hey Cate, what brings you here," She snapped her fingers the little girls looking at her. "Say 'hello' to Miss Cate everyone," We were rewarded with a chorus of hellos.

"Hi girls," I smiled at them and then turned to Heidi. "I was wondering if I could hang out with you," I was hoping she could read how much I wanted to escape in my eyes. She must have seen it because and nodded.

"Sure, why don't you get changed and then help me with the girls," She offered and I nodded, needing to lose myself for a bit. I changed quickly into my tights, leotard and shoes, pulling my hair back into a bun. When I went back out into the studio, Heidi had split the girls into two groups and I worked with one while she handled the other. The time flew swiftly and I found myself forgetting my troubles and enjoying myself as I helped the younger dancers. They were adorable and reminded me of myself when I had first started dancing.

Soon practice was over and parents were picking up their daughters. I felt a slight twinge of emotion in me as I watch the mothers and a couple of fathers, grab onto their daughters hands, asking them about class. I sighed and felt Heidi come up next to me after she had finished speaking with one of the parents.

"So what's up kid," She asked me as she lead back into her office.

I smiled. "What makes you think somethings up?" Heidi scoffed at me as I took a seat on the love seat she had in her office as she took the chair at her desk.

"Sweetie, I've been a long time and I've spent a lot of time around teenage girls," She leaned forward onto her elbows. "Now, what's up,"

I sighed, falling back into the couch. "Well, I had a lunch date planned with my older brother. Luke, I've told you about him," She nodded. "His girlfriend, Leah, decided to tag along. Leah and I haven't gotten along ever since we met but I try to be nice for my brother's sake, but he works a lot and he doesn't have much time. I'm busy with dance, school and Paul, so we don't get much time to see each other. And with my parents being in New York, Luke is kinda all I have out here. I just wanted to talk to him about some stuff that's important to me and she just invited herself. She didn't even ask if it was okay to join us," I took a breath, sighing. "So we get to the diner and Leah is just completely taking up my brother's attention. I couldn't get a word in and I just got so angry and all the built up emotions just came rushing out of me," I looked down at my hands, a little embarrassed remembering my outburst.

"And," Heidi asked, looking completely enthralled with my story.

"And," I sighed. "I blew up. I told both of them how I felt..." I trailed off.

"You said something hurtful," She guessed and I nodded.

"Really hurtful. Leah didn't deserve that, though I meant the rest of what I said." I admitted. My head fell back against the sofa and I stared up at the ceiling.

"What are you gonna do?" Heidi asked me, leaning back into her chair, loosely crossing her arms.

I lifted my arms, bringing them back down next to me. "I know I should say I'm sorry but I don't want too because I really don't regret most of what I said."

She sighed, looking thoughtful. "You should still apologize even though your not sorry for your words. You need to tell them that you're sorry you handle it in the wrong way and apologize for hurting Leah's feelings, which I'm sure you did. You'll just have to sit down and try and discuss it without fighting."

"I guess," I sighed. "It's just not fair. I love my brother and sometimes I just want to spend time together, like how we use to." I confessed, missing my brother even more than I had when he was at college.

Heidi nodded. "Its hard. He's getting older, moving towards being a real adult and you're going through a lot of changes too." You have no idea, Heidi.

"Yeah," I took a look at my cell phone. It was almost eight o'clock. Sue was probably worrying where I was. "I better get going. I'm sure my aunt's going crazy," Heidi and I stood up and she gave me a quick hug. "Thanks for everything Heidi,"

"Any time dear. You can come here anytime. You know, you did a great job with the younger girls today and it was nice being to work with a smaller group. If you want, you can be my teacher's assistant, help me out with the younger girls." I felt my mouth drop at Heidi's offer.

"Really," I asked, disbelieving.

She smiled down at me, the corner of her eyes crinkling. "You're a good teacher, and it will help me out a lot. Plus, it would probably be nice to have a little extra cash in your pocket."

"I would love to Heidi!" I gave her another hug. "Thanks so much!" I had already changed and grabbed my bag off of the chair. "I'll see you next class!"

"Bye Cate," I heard her call out, laughing.

I jumped into the Lexus and started my drive home. I was so giddy and happy. My bad day had turned into something wonderful. I blasted my CD and continued my drive home to La Push. Just as I was going through the center of Forks, suddenly had blue and red flashing lights in my rear view mirror.

Oh no.

I started freaking out. I knew I had to pull over though. I pulled over, putting the Lexus into park. I tried to breathe normal, trying to play this off. After a few minutes, a officer came up and was looking in at me. I took another breath and rolled down the window.  
"Do you know why I pulled you over, miss," The officer was young looking, dressed in the traditional all black uniform.

"Hm, no, I don't," I answered him.

"Well you went through a stop sign back there, I need to see your license, registration and proof of insurance."

"Okay," I had no clue what to do. I knew the registration was in the glove box so I went to reach for that. I found it and handed it to the officer whose badge read O'Connor. The rain had picked up a bit and the wind was blowing harder now.

"License and proof of insurance," He demanded and wasn't sure what to do. I was so terrified. Sue and Harry were going to be so pissed and Lucas would be disappointed but I didn't have another choice.

I cleared my throat. "I don't exactly have those,"

He looked at and then uttered the words that made me want to die.

"I need to turn off the vehicle and step outside." He ordered. I did as he said and took a deep breath as I opened the door and stepped out into the rain and wind. "How old are you,"  
"Fifteen,"

"Whose vehicle is this,"

"Mine,"

"Yours?"

"Yeah my dad gave it to me about a month ago but my brother has been driving it until I get my permit..." I trailed off. This was horrible. My heart was beating out of my chest and I felt like my head was going to explode.

"So you decided to take it for a joy ride,"

I shrugged, not meeting the officer's gaze. I wasn't sure what was going to happen but I knew it wasn't going to be good.

"I'll alright, I need you to turn around and put your hands on the vehicle," He commanded. Wait, what?

"Are you arresting me?" I nearly shrieked.

"Turn around," He put his hand on my shoulder and forced me to turn around, my hands flying up and meeting the side of the Lexus. He pulled one hand down and I felt the metal embrace my wrist and tighten and he did the same with my other hand.

I was trying so hard not to cry and to keep my cool, but I was going to go to jail.

"What's going to happen," I asked him, my voice shaky. He didn't answer me, but he pulled me back and lead me to his cruiser, opening the back door and almost roughly putting in the backseat.

This sucked so bad. I can't believe I was going to go to jail. I didn't even try to think about how much trouble I would be in once Sue and Harry found out. My whole turning over a new leaf thing had been going pretty good. It seems this day was just going to ruin me.

Once we arrived at the station, the officer helped me out of the car and lead me inside, escaping from the rain and entering another prison.

I kept my head down and tried to not be noticed until he told me to sit down. I took a seat on a hard chair that had been white but had yellowed with age. I looked up to see the officer talking to another cop, but this cop looked familiar. Where had I seen him...

"Chief Swan?" I asked and his eyes shot over to me and he took quick steps to me.

"You're Harry's niece, Cate, right?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, that's me. Are you going to call him so I can go home? I'm really sorry for driving without my license but I just needed to get away for a minute and the car is mine and and and and..." I stuttered and trailed off, the tears finally coming. The stress of the day had finally worn on me and I couldn't hold it in anymore. I let out little sobs here and there, keeping my head down.

"It's alright," Chief Swan said, sounding uncomfortable. "I'll give Harry and Sue a call and I'm sure they'll be right down to get you," He patted my shoulder and then left quickly to call my aunt and uncle.

I tried to calm down, but I was having those hiccup sobs and I was just so upset. I needed Paul. I just needed to be with him. Even though we had only been apart for about ten hours, I was really starting to miss him. He always knew how to make me feel better.

A few minutes later Chief Swan came back to me. "Your brother will be here soon to get you," He took a seat next to me. "You know what you did was wrong." He stated. "Now if you would have been in a bigger city, then you could have had some fines to deal with and your car would have been impounded," He told me and looked down at my knees. "But luckily here in Forks, we know the people and from what Harry's told me, you're a good kid going through a rough patch so I'll give you leeway but next time, you're going to have to deal with the consequences. Alright?" he end his lecture there.

I nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good." He grunted and I heard squeaky, wet shoes on the old tile floor. Lucas appeared around the corner, looking pissed.

Oh. Shit.

"Catherine," He greets me coldly. Guess I deserve that.

Chief Swan stands up, pulling me up with him and unlocks the cuffs. I rub my wrists and look to my brother. He's looking everywhere but me but he definitely looks like he wants to rip me apart.

"I'm sorry about this Chief. This won't happen again," He tells Chief Swan as they shake hands.

"It's alright. No harm done. Here are the keys to the car," He drops them into Lucas' hand. "Take care of yourself Cate," He tells me with a pat on the shoulder and then turns away from us.

That just leaves me and my pissed off werewolf of a big brother.

Yay.

After we're in the car and driving back to La Push, I can feel Luke's anger coming off him in waves.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled as I looked out into the dark trees. He seems to deflate a little.

"What were you thinking, running off like that and what you said," He let out a huff of air. "Cate what you did today was not okay,"

"I know, I know," A tear escaped down my face.

"I don't want you becoming a rebel or acting out-" He started but I cut him off.

"I'm not a rebel Luke and I'm not acting out. I just needed to get away so I went to the studio and I helped Heidi out with the younger girls. She even offered to let me become her teacher assistant." I defended.

"That's great, Catie, but still, what you said to Leah," His anger returned a little bit. "That really hurt her and you know that its a sore spot. Why did you say it?"

"I was pissed." I told him, sighing. "I meant everything I said in the diner. I get that Leah is your imprint. I think sometimes you forget that I'm an imprint too," he went to open his mouth but shut it quickly. "But like today, I wanted for just me and you to go to lunch together, talk about mom and dad, just spend some time together. I hardly get to see you, Lukey and I miss you,"

Lucas sighed. "I miss you, too," he paused and then started, hesitant. "What about mom and dad," I sighed. I would have to tell him about me being a faery before I could tell him about my thoughts on our mother.

Luckily, due to the fact that Lucas and Paul don't really like each other, they never got put on patrol together. It was usually Sam and Lucas during the day and Paul with Jared at night. So he never really got a glimpse into Paul's mind.

We had reached the red house and Luke turned off the car. We sat there for a moment, me trying to decided how to tell him.

"Luke, I'm a faery," Just be out with it, I had decided.

"What," He laughed. Lucas turned to look at me. His smile faded. "Are you serious,"

I nodded. "Like a heart attack,"

He turned to stare out the window. "Why didn't you tell me before," He sounded...angry.

"I didn't tell anyone. It doesn't exactly sound sane to go around saying, 'Oh hey, I'm a faery.'" I told him.

"Tell me everything," He ordered. We sat in the car for awhile as I told him everything that had happened since I had moved to La Push. He listened, never talking but taking it all in as I told him about the dreams and Kelan. He kept his poker face as I told him about my powers and how all the light blubs exploding were my fault.

After laying out all the details, we both sat there for a moment. Lucas soaking it all the information and me watching his face for a reaction.

Lucas nodded. "Well, I'm guessing this has something to do with mom and dad, then,"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I think that mom's being controlled by someone with powers. That's the only way any of her actions make sense. I mean, she wasn't the greatest mom but she wasn't horrible like this either."

"Maybe she's just gotten selfish Cate," He sighed. Something was playing behind his eyes. He was keeping a secret from me.

"What is it," He shook his head. "No, tell me Lucas. I need to know what it is,"

He sighed, staring at the keys he was playing with. "When I was three, Mom left."

"What," I let out in a strained whisper.

"She packed up, left a note for dad and disappeared for about two months. We probably would have never seen her again, but she came back because she was pregnant," He looked over at me, sadness filling his big brown eyes.

I had never known this and it shook me to my very core. She left? She had left Dad and Lucas? How could she?

"Why did no one tell me this," I demanded, tears filling my eyes.

"You didn't need to know, Cate. It was just a really bleak time that everyone wanted to forget about. A dark mark on the Rostov family," He snorted.

I sat back against the car seat. My mother had left my brother and my dad. I could never imagine just leaving my family-and for what? Someone else? To run away from your problems?

I swallowed my tears. "You said she came back because she was pregnant, with me. Am I-I mean-is Dad-" Lucas cut me off.

"Yes, Dad is your real father," He placed his hand on my shoulder. "There's no doubt there Cate," I nodded and felt my brother embrace me, his warm arms comforting me. I pulled away from him. "Let's get you off to bed, you have school," He winked at me.

I groaned but smiled, hopping out of the car and making my way into the red house. Waiting for me was Sue and Harry.

I had completely forgotten about them. Even though Lucas and I were good, Sue and Harry were probably pissed at me.

I stood in front of them, taking off my heels. I held them in my hands, looking down at them.

"I'm sorry, Sue, Harry," I turned to him. His face was impassive. "I know I messed up tonight and I completely understand if I'm in trouble or whatever but this won't happen again, I promise," I told them, being completely sincere.

Sue sighed and shared a look with Harry. He nodded at her. Really? No words? Man, I think he's going for a record.

"We accept your apology, Cate." Sue told me. "But as a punishment, you're on dish duty for a week." I nearly sighed with relief. I could deal with that.

"Okay," I acceded.

"Go to bed," Harry told me. I nodded at him and headed up to my bedroom. I closed my door and placed my shoes into their proper place. I rubbed my face and grabbed my towel, heading for the shower.

I finished up in the bathroom and was back in my room, slipping into clean pajamas and when there was a knock at my window. I smiled and went to fling the window open. I was greeted with Paul's smiling face.

"Hi sweetie," I greeted him with a quick kiss to his warm lips. He wrapped me up in his scorching embrace. He was shirtless and I pressed myself close to his naked chest, running my hand over his hard bicep.

"Babe," he said as he pressed another kiss to my lips this one lasting longer than the last one. He pulled away, resting his forehead against mine. "How was your day,"

I groaned, "Bad. Real bad. I got arrested," I told him, waiting for is reaction.

His eye nearly bugged out of his head. "What? How?" He asked, disbelief coloring his voice.

I started at the beginning of the story at the diner with Luke and Leah. Paul shook his head when I finished my story.

"O'Connor is a douche. Can't believe he arrested you," He shook his head. During my story, Paul had pull me onto the bed with him, securing us under the blankets and turning off the lights. I curled up next to my space heater.

"I also told Lucas about my" I wriggled my fingers at Paul, "powers. And he didn't freak out,"

"That's great babe," He told me. Even in the dark I could make out his features. I traced a finger down his nose and across his lips. On my third journey across his bottom lip, he opened his mouth and sucked my finger in. He lightly sucked on it, making something stir within me. I bit my lip as I watched him.

I pulled my hand away and replaced it with my mouth. I attacked Paul, pouncing on top of him, straddling his waist as I kissed him, letting my tongue mingle with his. His warm hands came to rest on my hips, traveling over my ass and up my back into my hair.

I groaned lightly as Paul pulled my head back and trailed his lips down my neck. His hands left my hair and went down to the thin straps of my top, sliding them down my shoulders. He kissed along my collarbone, his lips moving down.

I was nervous but the feeling in me was speaking louder and needed something.

Paul pulled down the front of my top, exposing my boobs to him. He kissed all around them, teasing me before placing a kiss on one of my hard nipple and finally taking it into his mouth. It took everything I had not to moan out loud as he licked and sucked. His other hand was busy rubbing and pulling on my other breast.

I need something, I needed friction.

That's all I thought of as I started rubbing my aching center against the hardness that had appeared between Paul's legs.

I must have taken him by surprise because he suddenly jerked up, grinding his hardness into me in the best way.

I moaned that time. Loudly.

Paul pulled my mouth to his to smother the moan. "Shit Cate," He swore as he rolled us over. He hovered over me, most of his weight off of me. He looked down at me, his hand brushing my nearly dry hair out of my face.

"Is it okay if I touch you, Cate," He asked me seeming almost shy.

I nodded, smiling. "Of course." Paul was happy as leaned down to kiss me. His hand traveled down, over my still exposed breast, giving it a squeeze, before moving further down until his reached the waist band of my shorts. I stuck his hand in and moved his fingers against my damp panties. I focused on not moaning as he pressed his fingers against my aching core and rubbed. I gripped on to Paul's arm.

"More," I squirmed when he stopped. He looked at me and then his hand was on the move again, going up and sliding down into my underwear. I rubbed a single warm finger on the outside of my wet lips, collecting the moisture that was there before finding my little nub and rubbing it. I nearly came undone as he started doing that and I didn't think that it could get any better until I felt one of his fingers at my entrance. He made a quick circle, before pushing his finger inside me. I squirmed, moving my hips trying to get more from his unmoving finger.

"Please Paul," I moan quietly.

Then he started moving his finger. It slid in and out of me and he continued to rub my clit at the same time.

I was so close to falling over the edge but I needed just a little bit more and I could tell Paul was being gentle.

"Harder, Paul," I told him in a breathy whisper. He did as I asked and pushed a little hard. That was it. A couple more pumps and a few more rubs and I was falling over the cliff. My back arched, my breath got caught in my throat and pleasure racked my whole body.

I finally came down from my high and found Paul staring at me, smiling. I pulled him towards me, pressing a rough kiss to his lips.

I fell back onto my pillows, my eyes dropping and my body sated.

"I have to get back to patrol, Cate," He told me and I nodded, holding him to me. He laughed and pulled my top up, covering me. He kissed my lips and tucked me a little better.

"Stay till I sleep," I mumbled to him and I felt him nod.

I had fallen asleep moments later and barely felt the kiss he left on my cheek as he went out the window and back into the trees.

**AN: Hey everyone! So not a year in between chapters. Thats an improvement. Drop a review, let me know what you think of this chapter and the lemon! **

**thanks for sticking with me yall. I love you!**


End file.
